tihraxy of t:he Cheolo0ical Seminary

PRINCETON . NEW JERSEY

FROM THE LIBRARY OF
ROBERT ELLIOTT SPEER

H78 1899

BV 4501

Houston, Matthew Hale

By his life

BY HIS LIFE.

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FED 20 1959
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BY HIS LIFE

MATTHEW HALE HOUSTON

I.ATE MISSIONARY TO CHINA.

RICHMOND, VA.:
* AVhittet & Shepperson, General Printers.

1S99.

CONTENTS.

Page.
CHAPTER I.

A Wonderful Thing,

CHAPTER II.
His Desire, 11

CHAPTER III.
Saved by His Life, 20

CHAPTER IV.
The Place of Victory, 28

CHAPTER V.

The True Bridegroom, 42

CHAPTER VI.
Out of the Wilderness, .... 51

CHAPTER VII.
The Perfect Man, 64

CHAPTER VIII.
An Insoluble Question, .... 73

CHAPTER IX.
An Unclouded Gospel, 85

CHAPTER X.
Closing Words 102

To EVERYONE who is thirsting for a better
life this little book is addressed, in the hope
that the very simple manner in which the
waters of life are pointed out may lead
some — perhaps not a few — to drink and be
filled.

Bible Institute,

Altamont, S, C.

BY HIS LIFE

CHAPTER I.
A Wonderful Thing.

Do you wish to live a noble and happy life ?
Do you wish to be true and loving and brave?
Do you wish to have good success, a tri-
umphant career, and then to pass out of this
world without fear? I write this little book
to show you how all this may surely be yours.

You are aware that there is something, per-
haps much, in your life that is wrong. As a
result, you have had humiliating failures.
You have sometimes wished for a better life,
but have not secured what your heart desired.
Has it ever occurred to you that there is such
a thing as giving up your present life, with
its failures, and receiving a new, fresh life in
its place — a life which will insure success?
Would not this be a wonderful and a very
happy thing?

Suppose an army of ill-trained, demoral-
ized soldiers. In camp, they are slovenly;
on parade, they are awkward ; in action, they

8 By His Life.

are cowardly. But they have a general who
is a model in all military affairs. He was
once a private in the ranks ; he did every
duty of a private fully. He was afterwards a
captain, then a colonel. As he rose from
grade to grade, he was always intelligent,
brave, faithful. As a general, he is the very
prince and ornament of army life. And now
suppose that he is able to put his own spirit
into every officer and every private in his
command, what a transformation there will
be ! Every man becomes a model in his own
rank. The whole force is now alert, full of
courage, thoroughly efficient. Were it pos-
sible for the spirit of the commander thus to
be infused into the life of all his troops,
would not this be a wonderful thing?

Or, we suppose a good man who has
adopted several boys and girls into his fam-
ily, that he may be a father to them. These
children are all careless, ignorant, vicious.
But the father by adoption is so wise, so kind,
that we could wish nothing better for the
children than that they should be like him.
Now, if we had a method by which the dis-
orderly, evil life of each child could be taken
away and the life of their good father put in
its stead, would not this be a wonderful, a
joyful change?

By His Life. 9

I have to tell you of something more won-
derful than either of the things I have now
mentioned. It is as true as it is wonderful.
All we who are living on the earth were born
into the world with much in us that was
wrong. Many of us grew up with the wrong
life still in us. Some of us learned that there
was a better life, and thirsted for it. Some
are thirsting now for a pure, true, perfect
life. A promise has been left us that all who
thirst in this way shall be filled. I wish to
point out to you in a simple way how you
may be filled.

There has been one perfect life in this
world, and only one. Before that life was
seen and known, the longing desire of many
hearts was to see a perfect man. Prophets
and righteous men, through long centuries,
desired to see this, but saw it not. At last
appeared the perfect Son of man, the peer-
less human being, our Lord Jesus Christ. As
a child, as a youth, as a man, he was alto-
gether lovable. In his intelligence and wis-
dom, in his purity and love, in his courage
and truth, in his devotion to God our Father,
in his sympathetic and lowly service for man,
he was without a spot. From heaven the
Father looked down on him with unalloyed
pleasure. Here was a life on earth like the

lo By His Life.

clearest crystal, without a flaw. Here was a
career, from the beginning onward, without
a failure. At every point he triumphed. He
so spoke that all enemies were put to silence.
He so lived that the judge who passed on
him the sentence of death declared that no
fault was found in him. And now the Father
has raised him to the highest point of honor
in the universe. He is Lord of all. What a
glorious life ! Do you wish to live such a life ?
Do you wish to rise to such a summit of
honor ? Are you really hungering and thirst-
ing for this? I have to tell you that your
wish may be fully satisfied.

Do you ask how? I answer that the per-
fect, glorious Son of man will put his own
Spirit in you. The general at the head of the
ignorant, demoralized army could not put his
own spirit into his troops to make them like
himself. The good man who took vicious
children into his family had no power to im-
part his own life of truth and love to them.
But here is the wonderful thing in the uni-
verse : the Lord Jesus does put his own Spirit
into everyone who is willing to be like him.
He does give his own life to everyone willing
to live as he lived. Is it your will to be per-
fect as he is perfect ?

CHAPTER II.

His Desire.

I WISH now to tell you — it is tidings of
great joy— that Jesus Christ most earnestly
wishes to fill you with his own Spirit. You
have heard of his love to everyone in the
world. It passes all that we can think.
''God our Saviour will have all men to be
saved, and to come to the knowledge of the
truth." His pity, his sympathy for us, who
can measure them? With this love in his
heart, he descended to the lowest place ever
held by man. As a babe, he lay helpless in
the stable at Bethlehem. As a man, he went
down to the shame and agony and desertion
of the cross. After this he ascended to a
point which is far above the clouds ; far above
the sun and moon and stars. And why did
he thus descend and then ascend? The Apostle
Paul tells us : "He that descended is the same
also that ascended up far above all heavens,
that he might fill all things."^ In that strange
career of humiliation and suffering, and in
that wonderful going up to the pinnacle of
'Ephesians. iv. lo.

12 By His Life.

the universe, his object was that he might fill
everyone ; that is, everyone who is willing to
receive his Spirit, everyone who does not bar
him out.

Here we were on earth wretched in our
lives. Malice and envy and bitterness dwelt
in us. We were false and mean. We had no
rest and no hope. Our compassionate Lord
wished to take away this wretched life, and
fill us with his own life of love and joy and
peace. To do this he became a man. As a
man, he could have such a life himself only
by being filled with the Spirit of God the
Father — that is, with the Holy Spirit. So
from his earliest infancy, the Spirit of the
Father dwelt in him. At the age of thirty
he stooped to a lowly act of humiliation.
Though he was pure and without sin, he took
the place of a sinner, and was baptized with
the water of Jordan. It is by acts of humility
that the capacity to receive the Spirit is en-
larged. As he prayed on the bank of the
Jordan, the heavens were opened and the
Spirit descended with all purity and gentle-
ness, and filled him. Then he went out to
his public ministry among men. Whoever
saw him saw the Father, for the Spirit of the
Father continually filled him. And yet he
could not then do all that he purposed to do

By His Life. 13

for us. Though he was filled with the Spirit,
the Spirit did not so fill him as to overflow
and fill others.

There was to be 'a grander infilling. He
must stoop to a lower point of humiliation
than his baptism. He must descend to the
ignominy of the cross. He knew that beyond
this shame a joy unspeakable awaited him.
He had the promise of the Father as to what
the joy should be. He would be raised to the
right hand of the Father, and so filled with
the Spirit that from him the Spirit would come
down and fill those on earth wdiom he loved.
In this way their joy, like his, would be full.

The Father performed the promise. Jesus,
in his heavenly exaltation, was filled with the
Spirit of gladness and power. Then he sent
down the vSpirit to the men and women who
wxre looking to him for the same gift of joy.
He filled them with the Spirit on the day of
Pentecost, and from that day to this he has
filled all those who have looked to him as
they looked. Other men and other women
may not receive the same gift of tongues that
excited amazement in the gathering crowds
at Pentecost, for there are "diversities of
gifts." There may not again be heard in any
house the sound of a rushing, mighty wind
as the Spirit descends to dwell in human

14 By His Life.

hearts. These are circumstances which do
not affect the reception of the fulness of the
Spirit by any man. You have received the
Ten Commandments. They did not come
down to you with hghtning and smoke and
the sound of a trumpet ; yet you possess them
with all their fulness and force, as truly as
if you had stood at the foot of Sinai when
the tables of stone were handed down. Just
so you may now receive the fulness of the
Spirit sent down by Jesus Christ, though no
tongue of fire rest on your head, and no rush-
ing sound fill your ears.

Can anything be more wonderful and glo-
rious? Can anything be more joyful to you
and to me? Think of it. Never stop think-
ing of it. There above the heights of the
highest stars is our perfect Brother, a foun-
tain of the Spirit of life to us. What is it
you w^ant? What is the object of your long-
ing desire? Is it more joy, more wisdom,
more strength, more love, more courage, more
patience, more success ? Whatever it be, now
in Christ Jesus you may get what you will.
He sees the cravings of your heart, and he
says : "If any man thirst, let him come unto
me and drink." Any man ; this is the Lord
Jesus laying his hand of love on you and
speaking to you. No matter what be the

By His Life. 15

thirst of your soul for good, he will satisfy it.
John tells us in his gospel that Jesus, when
he uttered those words, spoke of the Holy
Spirit whom he would send down after he
had been glorified — that is, after he had gone
to the Father. And now he is ready and wait-
ing to fill you with his Spirit. He wishes to
give you his life to take the place of your
own life. He wishes to assure your success.
He wishes to make your whole career tri-
umphant.

Have you ever considered what an im-
mense advantage you have over millions of
your fellow-men who once lived on the earth ?
Noah or Abraham or David or Solomon
never knew such a thing as the spirit of a per-
fect man. ''I have seen an end of all perfec-
tion," said David. As a result of this the
Holy Spirit, like the dove sent out the first
time over the troubled waters of the flood,
found no place of rest in the hearts of sinful
men. Then came the perfect man. In him
the Spirit dwelt, and with him ascended to
heaven, as the dove, on its second mission,
brought back to the ark the olive branch, the
token of a new, fresh life that should spread
over the whole earth. And yet even at the
time when Jesus stood on the earth, the Holy
Spirit, as John tells us, was not yet.

i6 By His Life.

This does not mean that the Spirit of God
had not, in the years before, come down to
bless men. David and Isaiah, Peter and John,
and many others, had received the Spirit and
been glad. But the meaning is that the Spirit
of God bringing to men the life of a perfect
man to abide in them, this was not yet. This
could not be till Jesus went up to his place of
glory. When he had received the Spirit there,
his life of gentleness and love could de-
scend to all men. Then the dove could come
the third time to abide in any spot on earth.
Then the splendid reservoir of a perfect man-
hood could pour down its waters of life to
men. "Of his fulness have all we received,"
says John, "and grace for grace." Every
grace in that holy life begets a corresponding
grace in us. His courage becomes our cour-
age; his love our love; his joy our joy. We
are refreshed and satisfied with the crystal
stream which broadens and deepens as it
flows on.

But perhaps you say that you do not under-
stand this; you do not know what is meant
by the Spirit of life coming down from Jesus
and filling us. Let me assure you that this is
one of those simple facts which you may
know as clearly as you know the facts of your
every-day life. Do you not know that the

By His Life. 17

life and nervous energy of your head comes
down and fills your whole hand ? Do you not
know that the life and sap of the vine flows
in and fills the branch? Just so the life and
Spirit of Jesus pours down and fills everyone
willing to receive this fulness. You may not
understand it, but you may know it.

Look around you in the world. On every
side God is speaking to you in parables, re-
minding you and teaching you what it is to be
filled. You rise in the morning; you draw
back the curtain and throw open the shutter ;
the streaming light pours in and fills the
room. You take your place at the breakfast
table ; before you is the empty cup waiting to
be filled. The glittering rain descends from
heaven ; your cistern is open ; how quickly it
is filled ! You look out on the landscape ;
every leaf on every tree, quivering in life, is
filled with freshness drawn from the parent
stem. Your heart throbs ; at every pulsation
the blood speeds onward to fill your whole
body to the finger tips. You draw your
breath ; the free air presses in and fills every
cell of your lungs. Filled ! Filled ! The
works of God cry out to you on every hand.
Many men and many women, the messengers
of God on earth, take up the cry in this day,
''Be filled with the Spirit." God, who wishes

i8 By His Life.

you to have a fulness of blessing, lays on you
the command, Be filled.

Do you say, "I am willing to be filled with
the Spirit of Christ ; but how may I be filled ?"
Here, again, I assure you that the matter is
a very simple one. The Lord Jesus, though
he is high and lifted up, is the King meek and
lowly. He is very near each one of us, be-
cause his Spirit is with us. He delights to
serve and help us, and he says, "Ask and ye
shall receive." As surely as you ask for the
Holy Spirit, you will receive. As certainly
as you wait before the beloved Master for his
fulness, you will be filled. Did he not de-
scend to the manger and the cross, and did
he not ascend far above all heavens, for this
very purpose? How is it possible for him to
refuse you now? To wait before him, to
ask, to receive — this is faith. Do you want
Christ to dwell in you and be your life?
"That Christ may dwell in your hearts by
faith," is the word of God.

Unbelief refuses to ask; faith calls,
stretches out empty hands, accepts. Unbe-
lief clings to its own life ; faith gives up the
self-life that Christ may live instead. Unbe-
lief breathes in the foul air that is from be-
neath ; faith looks up to Christ and breathes
with delight the pure air of heaven. Unbe-

By His Life. 19

lief ties a cord around the wrist and cuts off
the sources of Hfe from the hand ; faith un-
ties the cord and lets the life flo\v^ m. Unbe-
lief will not drink and ever thirsts ; faith
drinks abundanly and is refreshed. Unbelief
is death ; faith is life and peace.

We learn from John's gospel that it was
with no ordinary tone Jesus said, "Let him
come unto me and drink." He stood and
cried. The prophet Isaiah had said of him,
**He shall not cry, nor lift up, nor cause his
voice to be heard in the street." But here
was an exception to his ordinary manner of
speech. The earnest, passionate appeal of
love extorted from him a cry. So he loves
you. He cries to you. Drink. Drink freely.
Drink to the full. Be filled.

CHAPTER III.

Saved by His Life.

You have now heard the message of love
from the King of heaven and earth. He
urges you to accept his own Ufe, with its
abounding joy and power, which can never
fail. '*I am come that they might have life,
and that they might have it more abund-
antly." 'T give unto them eternal life."
"Christ liveth in me." "Christ in you, the
hope of glory." As you read these lines I do
not know what relation you have been hold-
ing towards our Father in heaven, or towards
his Son, our Saviour. But I know that there
is a sentence in the Bible which indicates your
relation, for it sweeps over the whole line of
experience now known to men. Here it is :
"For if, when we were enemies, we were re-
conciled to God by the death of his Son, much
more, being reconciled, we shall be saved by
his life.^ The line starts, you observe, at the
lowest point of human depravity — enmity to
God. It stretches upward to the height of
that throne which is far above all heavens —

' Romans v. lo.

By His Life. 21

saved by the life of the Son. And it marks
out the intervening space.

At what point on the line you find yourself,
it is yours to judge. Are you at that fearful
extremity — an enemy of God ? Have you not
yet been reconciled to your Father in heaven ?
Have you never known what it is to come to
him and fall on his bosom, and say, ''Father,
I have sinned" ? If this be your case, the first
thing for you to do is to be reconciled to God
by the death of his Son. Jesus Christ died
for you, the just for the unjust, to bring you
to God. He is now exalted a Prince and a
Saviour, as Peter declared, to give repen-
tance. Ask him to give you this royal gift —
repentance. He will send you the Spirit of
truth, and the Spirit will show you the grief
you have caused our Father by your hard
and wicked course. You will know and be-
lieve the love that God has to you, for God
is love. You will bow before him with a
broken, contrite heart. You will be recon-
ciled to him, to be his loving, obedient child ;
and the beloved Son, who brought you to
him, you will most gladly accept to be your
Lord. This is what it is to be reconciled to
God. My heart's desire and prayer to God
is that no one whose eyes rest on this page
may fail to be reconciled to him.

22 By His Life.

But I assume now that you have been re-
conciled to God. I am addressing you these
words because I take you to be one who has
accepted Jesus as Lord. You sincerely de-
sire to live his life of humility and upright-
ness and love. It is to you, therefore, God
says that you shall be saved by the life of his
Son. You have heard of the book of the life
of the Lamb. All whose names are not writ-
ten in this book shall be cast into the lake of
fire. Only those who have the life of the
Son of God are delivered from the wrath to
come. If any man have not the Spirit of
Christ, he is none of his. We are saved by
his life. The glad message set before you in
the preceding pages is that he wishes not only
to give you his life, but to give it more abun-
dantly. He greatly longs to fill you with his
Spirit of life. And now I wish to point out
some important facts which you must clearly
apprehend, in order that this fulness of bless-
ing may be secured.

You have already received the Spirit of
Jesus Christ. The proof of this is that you
accept him as your Lord. ''No man can say
that Jesus is the Lord, but by the Holy
Ghost." Since you have his Spirit, you are
one with him. As the branch is one with the
vine, as the hand is of one body w4th the

By His Life. 23

head, so you are one with Christ. You may
have received but httle of his Hfe ; you may
have but a small measure of his Spirit. This
cannot do away with the fact. You are one with
him. The branch half severed from the vine,
though the flow of sap in it be feeble, is one
with the vine. The hand weakened by a cord
tied around the wrist, though it receive but
little nervous power, is one with the head.
So you are one with Christ. I beg you now
vividly to realize the fact.

When Jesus was about to leave the world,
he said to his disciples : "Yet a little while,
and the world seeth me no more ; but ye see
me ; because I live, ye shall live also." Though
he was to be parted from them, they would
see him. There is a clear-eyed vision of faith.
It moves and acts as seeing him who is in-
visible. As the writer of the Epistle to the
Hebrews declares, "We see Jesus crowned
with glory and honor," I pray that you may
see him this moment and every moment.
Look off from the things that are seen to him
who is unseen. Say to him :

Lord Jesus, make thyself to me
A living, bright reality !
IMore present to faith's vision keen
Than any outward object seen, —
More dear, more intimately nigh.
Than e'en the sweetest earthly tie.

24 By His Life.

As you see him, recognize your oneness with
him. Say, "My beloved is mine, and I am
his ; we are one. He is my Hfe. Because he
Hves, I shall live also." Be sure that here is
the very heart and centre of all joy .and
strength and success. Everything depends
on your real identification w4th Christ. Above
all things, accept your place as identified with
him. Then all his power becomes your
power. His love is your love. His thoughts
are your thoughts. His life is your life ; and
you can say in truth, "Not I, but Christ liveth
in me."

Because this is the heart of the whole mat-
ter, it is just at this point the devil does his
utmost to foil you. He tries to keep you
from claiming and realizing your entire one-
ness with Christ. His name is Devil ; that is,
the Accuser. In the Revelation he is called
"the accuser of our brethren, which accused
them before God day and night." You may
be sure he has been accusing you to injure
you. How ? By declaring in your heart and
mind and conscience that you are not worthy
to be one with Christ ; that you are not ready
to be one with Christ ; that it would be pre-
sumption in you to place yourself in the posi-
tion of thorough identification with Christ.

He does not make these accusations, of

By His Life. 25

course, to affect God. He knows well that
God understands all his lies. He makes the
accusations to mislead and ruin you. When
you were an unconverted sinner and were
told to come to Jesus, he kept saying in your
heart and conscience that you were not ready,
you were not worthy, to come. He accused
you day and night before God to hold you
back. And now that you have come to Jesus,
his object is to hold you back from the place
of joy and triumph — your full identification
with Christ. He keeps saying that you are not
ready, you are not worthy, to take this high
place of entire oneness with the glorious
King. Now, you remember how you es-
caped the snare of the devil at the time you
first came to Jesus ; are you willing to be
foiled by the accuser now?

Let me call your attention here to a fact
which is most cheering. Jesus gives you his
Spirit for the express purpose of casting the
devil, with all his accusations, out of your
heart. He said that the Spirit of truth, when
he came to us, would convince the world of
judgment, because the prince of this world —
that is, the devil — is judged.^ You know
that a wicked accuser, when he is judged in
court, is cast out of court. So Jesus said,

' John xvi. II.

26 By His Life.

"Now is the judg-ment of this world; now
shall the prince of this world be cast out."^
And so we read in the Revelation, "Now is
come salvation, and strength, and the king-
dom of our God, and the power of his Christ ;
for the accuser of our brethren is cast down,
which accused them before our God day and
night. "^ Your salvation and strength, ob-
serve, come by the accuser being cast down.
As long as you allow him a place in your
heart, to charge you with being unworthy
or unready to take the place, of identification
with your beloved King, you cannot have full
salvation. But the Spirit of truth casts him
out by showing you the truth.

This truth is that our King is so meek and
lowly that he stoops to identify himself with
the humblest one among us. He died for
all. His love passes knowledge. By every
form of speech he bids us identify ourselves
with him. He is the bread of life; we must
feed on him. The blood which he shed for us
is drink indeed ; we must all drink of it. He
is the head ; we must be baptized into him as
members. Yea, we are members of his body,
of his flesh, and of his bones. He is the
vine ; we must abide in him as branches. He
is the noble bridegroom ; we must forsake all,

'John xii. 31. "^Revelation xii. 10.

By His Life. 2y

and give him our heart and hand to be one
with him, as the wife is one with the husband.
In obeying these commandments, we must
not delay in order to make ourselves worthy.
When we first came to him, we did not wait
till we were worthy. We said :

Just as I am, without one plea,
But that thy blood was shed for me.
And that thou bidst me come to thee,
O Lamb of God ! I come.

And now that he bids us take the place of one-
ness with himself, let us say:

Just as I am ; thy love unknown,

Has broken every barrier down.

Now to be thine, yea, thine alone,

O Lamb of God ! I come.

By thy death thou didst reconcile me to God ;
now much more — O blessed word, much
more! — shall I be saved by thy life. Thou
hast put thy Spirit in me. Thou hast made
me one with thyself. Now I am unreserv-
edly, wholly, forever, one with thee. By thy
Spirit seal me to thyself, that every moment
I may say truly. Not I, but thou livest in
me. — Amen.

CHAPTER IV.
The Place of Victory.

I ASSUME now that you have trustfully,
lovingly identified yourself with Christ. Such
being your relation to him, you hold a trium-
phant position as regards sin — that dreadful
evil, that abhorred foe of your life. Let us
see clearly how this is.

Since you are one with him, all that he
ever did goes to your benefit. Much was
done by him before you were born; but the
interval of time does not afifect your interest ;
all is yours. A man in an Oriental land
plants a choice olive tree in his garden. Year
after year he fertilizes and cares for it. Every
year adds to its richness and strength. In
the course of time a wild olive tree springs
up in the wilderness. The man takes one of
its branches and engrafts it on his good tree.
The wild branch receives the richness that
has been stored up in the years past. It has
the benefit of a cultivation done before its
own parent trunk rose from the ground. The
history of the good tree is the record of all
that goes to the present support and life of

By His Life. 29

the branch, for the branch and the tree are
one.

The prince of an illustrious house is
trained with a view to his ruling the kingdom
over which his father has reigned. In due
time, with all the advantages of a noble edu-
cation, he ascends the throne. By his valor
and wise administration he extends his rule
over many lands. Meanwhile there is born
in his territories a young girl whom he deter-
mines to made his wife. When she is come
of age, he takes her to be his bride. In do-
ing this, he gives her, with the fulness of love,
all that he is and all that he has. His past
history now becomes part of her wealth. His
education, his cultured, generous heart, the
kingdom which he inherited, his conquests,
all are hers. She is one with him, and all
that he ever did brings its treasure of joy to
her life.

Just so you, one with Christ, have as your
own all that he ever did, all that he now is,
all that he now has. Nay, more than this;
he knew you and your whole life before you
were born, and he definitely associated you
with himself in all his acts. He bids you re-
gard yourself at this present time as having
been with him — united with him — in every
suffering and every triumph through which

30 By His Life.

he passed on earth. He puts in your mouth
the words, "I have been crucified with
Christ,"^ "We died with Christ,"^ ''We
w^ere buried with him,"^ "Were also raised
with him.''* Is not this a wonderful
union ! Is it not rich in honor and strength !
Now accept joyfully all that this carries with
it. Reckon yourself as having been associ-
ated with your beloved King and Head in
his sorrows and in his victories. Do not look
on the history of his marvelous career as
something apart from yourself. He identified
you with himself in it. The history is yours.
What can be more deeply interesting to
you ? Let us look at the matter more closely.
You and I each say, 'T have been crucified
with Christ." Now, if I have been crucified
with him, I may be sure that I richly de-
served this penalty of death. And so it was.
There is another statement I must make my
own: 'Tn me, that is, in my flesh, dwelleth
no good thing.''^ This is the utter condem-
nation of myself; and self is the flesh — the
whole man as I am apart from the indwelling
of the Spirit of Christ. "That which is born
of the flesh," said Jesus, "is flesh." That

1 Gal. ii. 20, R. V. ' Rom. vi. 8, R. V.

3 Rom. vi. 4, R. V. -^Col. ii. 12, R. V.

^Rom. vii. iS.

By His Life. 31

which is begotten of self is selfish. That
which springs from him in whom dwelleth
no good thing, must be no good thing. So I,
apart from the indwelling of Christ, am alto-
gether vile. All my thoughts and words and
w^orks, apart from the influence of the Spirit
of Christ, are completely evil. I, that is, the
flesh, deserve the sentence of death. That
sentence was passed and executed. "Know-
ing this," says Paul, "that our old man was
crucifled with him."^

Notice that it was the man who was cruci-
fied ; not merely some fault, some disposi-
tion, some trait, some tendency. It was the
old man — the old self, that dated back to the
moment when I began my existence. On me
and my whole being, as I was born into the
world without the indwelling of Christ, on
me and my whole being, as I lived in the
world without Christ in me, was the sentence
of death passed. As to the manner in which
the sentence was executed, you need not that
I tell you. My Lord took my old, loathsome
self and joined it to himself. When he died,
I died. "I have been crucified with Christ."

You will surely see the justice of this. I,
the old man, the flesh, the self, by whatever

'Rom. vi. 6, R. V.

32 By His Life.

name I am called, am only a robber and a
murderer. God made me for himself, that
I might give pleasure to him by loving him
and doing his wise commands. Instead
of living for him, I lived for myself. Instead
of doing his will, I did my own will. I took
what belonged to him and used it for self. I
robbed God. He gave me many rich gifts,
that I might thank him with a grateful heart
and use them for him. I did not thank him.
I took the gifts as though they were mine of
right. I held them as though I were supreme.
I used them for self. Again I robbed God.
He made me that I might be a blessing to
others, and spread life among those around
me. By my self-life I was a curse in the
world ; I brought death to others. I am a
murderer.

Deep as was this guilt, there was still a
lower depth. When God set before me his
beloved Son, and told me to choose between
him and self, I chose self. I had read with
some astonishment the history of that scene
in the judgment hall of Pilate, where the
Jewish leaders were called to choose between
the Christ and Barabbas — the matchless Son
of God and him who was a robber and a mur-
derer. It seemed amazing that they should
choose the red-handed robber and crucifv the

By His Life. 33

peerless King. Yet this is just what I did. I
chose that old robber and murderer, self,
and rejected the Christ. I was unwilling to
deny myself ; 1 denied the Prince of glory. I
refused to crucify the flesh ; I crucified the be-
loved Son of God.

And now does not the flesh, the self, de-
serve to die? A thousand times over, yes.
Away with it ! Let it be crucified ! Let me
join in its destruction ! And I do thank Jesus
Christ, our Lord, that he associated me with
himself in putting it to death. I, the self,
have been crucified with Christ. I, the flesh,
have been buried with him. I, the old man,
have been laid in the darkness and silence of
the tomb. There let that old life, with all its
corruption, lie and rot.

For when our Lord rose with us from the
tomb, he left behind all that loathsome bur-
den of sin. He died to sin once for all. He
is now "without sin," says the Epistle to the
Hebrews. "He hath ceased from sin," says
Peter. He is done with it forevermore. Re-
joicing in his freedom from the cursed load,
he lives before the Father. And now he has
raised us up, that we may be associated with
him in the victory over sin. Read carefully
the words of Paul : "Our old man was cruci-
fied with him, that the bodv of sin mig^ht be

34 By His Life.

done away, so that we should no longer be in
bondage to sin. * * * But if we died
with Christ, we believe that we shall also live
with him. * * * For the death that he
died, he died unto sin once ; but the life that
he liveth, he liveth unto God. Even so reckon
ye also yourselves to be dead unto sin, but
alive unto God in Christ Jesus. * * * Let
not sin therefore reign in your mortal body.
* "^ Present yourselves unto God as alive
from the dead, and your members as instru-
ments of righteousness unto God. For sin
shall not have dominion over you."^ Could
there be a more cheering statement of your
victorious position over sin?

But I hear some one say, "Ah ! I know that
Christ died as my legal representative, but I
was not really with him at his death ; I was
not then actually united with him ; yet the
language used here seems to imply that, as a
matter of personal experience, I have been
crucified, buried and raised up with him.
How is this ?" The question is one that read-
ily suggests itself, and I think the answer to
it," found in the word of God, is clear.

It is a blessed truth that Christ, as our rep-
resentative in law, died and rose for us. He
"suffered for sins, the just for the unjust."
' Rom. vi. 6, 8, 10-14.

By His Life. 35

He "was delivered for our offences, and was
raised again for our justification." We can-
not praise God enough for this. And yet this
is far from being the whole of the matter. In
his death, burial, and resurrection our Lord
gave us an example, that we should follow
in his steps. He showed us the course of
thought and purpose which we ought to take.
It should be a counterpart of the course which
he actually took. ''Forasmuch as Christ suf-
fered in the flesh, arm ye yourselves also with
the same mind."

Did he give himself to die on the cross?
With each one of us there must be the delib-
erate decision that self, the flesh, shall be
given up to death ; that the old man shall be
nailed to the cross. 'They that are Christ's
have crucified the flesh." Did he go down to
the grave? With us there must be a full,
honest consent that the old man be buried.
^'Knowing that our old man was crucified,"
we heartily acquiesce in his being laid in the
tomb. Did Christ rise from the dead and as-
cend to the Father, forever parting company
with sin? Then we must gladly accept the
position in the heavenly places, to be one with
him and forever separated from sin. "Ye
have put off the old man with his deeds, and
have put on the new man." "If ye then be

36 By His Life.

risen with Christ, seek those things which are
above." And so freely, decisively, in our
own spiritual career, we go with our beloved
Master from Calvary to the throne.

Does this mean now that we are to have no
more conflicts with sin? Far from it. We
shall have many conflicts with sin. Yet the
meaning is precious and jubilant. It is that
we are now in a position in which we can con-
quer every sin that shows itself in our life.
We now have the attitude towards God and
towards sin which insures our triumph. "Sin
shall not have dominion over you."

Beloved, God looks on the heart. He de-
mands that we shall be true, honest men and
w^omen. He requires that our attitude to-
wards him and towards sin shall be sound.
He has told us in one sentence what this must
be: ''Reckon ye also yourselves to be dead
unto sin, but alive unto God in Christ Jesus."
To reach this point there is but one way. It
has now been indicated to you. I assumed
that you had identified yourself with Christ ;
now^ go with him to the cross, and from the
cross to the heavenly heights. Remember that
it was in the power of the Spirit he trod this
path. He "through the eternal Spirit offered
himself without spot to God." Remember that
he now gives you the Spirit that you may

By His Life. 37

offer yourself to God. It was 'Svith power
according to the Spirit of holiness" he was
raised from the dead. So the Spirit is given
yon, with "the exceeding greatness of his
power," to raise you up with Christ, and
make you sit with him to-day in the heavenly
places. Now, in the power of the Spirit at
once, without delay, take this place of eleva-
tion and victory with him. Take it and hold
it. Against every attack, in the face of all
odds, hold it. You have onlv to be very bold,
rejoicing in Christ, and your triumph is as-
sured. For notice :

I. All the power in the life of Christ is
pledged for your success. He has given him-
self— all that he is — to you for your good.
Do you appreciate the power there is in this?
The trouble with some Christians is that they
have great faith in the power of sin in them,
and weak faith in the power of the Son of
God to subdue that sin. Will you dishonor
your Lord in this way? Do you not know
that all power has been given to him? Have
you not read that all things are put under his
feet ? Has he not given you his Spirit to keep
you one with himself in that position of su-
preme control? Then, no matter what be the
sin you see in your life, be assured that by
the power of his Spirit you can now slay it

38 By His Life.

and put it under your feet. "If ye, through the
Spirit, do mortify — put to death — the deeds
of the body, ye shall live."^ ''Mortify — put
to death — therefore your members which are
upon the earth ; fornication, uncleanness, in-
ordinate affection, evil concupiscence, and
covetousness, which is idolatry."^

As soon as you see one of this horrid brood
in your heart, advance to destroy it. Have
no truce with it. Bring forth the Achan,
with all his belongings, out of the camp, and
stone him to death. Is it some refined, courtly
sin ? Do not spare it. Be not like Saul, who
slew some but kept alive the best. Lead out
that royal Agag, who walks delicately, and
hew him to pieces before the Lord. Let noth-
ing escape. And such is the power of the
Spirit of Christ in you, that you will surely
be able to say, ''Now thanks be unto God,
who always causeth us to triumph in
Christ."^

2. Remember that the power of the Spirit
of Christ in you reaches down to the smallest
affairs of your every-day life. When Paul
said, "I can do all things through Christ
which strengtheneth me,"* he was not speak-
ing of some great missionary enterprise ; his

'Rom. viii. 13. -Col. iii. 5. ^2 Cor. ii. 14,

■*Gal. iv. 13.

By His Life. 39

thoughts were not on any rare act of heroic
endurance. He was speaking of those com-
mon matters with which you and I have to
deal day by day. His subject was the supply
of his bodily needs. In writing to his friends
at Philippi, he acknowledged their kindness
in having sent him some things to meet his
wants. Their gifts had brought him joy, he
wrote, but the joy was not because his wants
were relieved. He had learned in whatsoever
state he was, therewith to be content. He
knew how to suffer the humiliation of poverty
and how to enjoy the abundance of prosper-
ity; how to be hungry and how to be full.
"I can do all things through Christ who
strengtheneth me." In the least of practical
matters, the victory was his.

You see, then, that Christ in you brings
complete success in the temptations of your
pecuniary affairs and of all that relates to
your daily bread. In the petty worries of
business, in the doubtful competitions of
trade, in the chafings of a year of want, in
the enticements to luxurious self-indulgence
of the day of w^ealth, ''every where and in all
things," to use the expression of Paul, the
victory is secure. You can do all things
through Christ w^ho strengthens you.

Not that the enticement to self-indulgence

40 By His Life.

or the allurement of some form of the flesh
may not tempt you back to that dreadful con-
dition, the self -life — enjoying your own ease,
seeking your own reputation, satisfied with
your own wisdom, serving God according to
your own will. All this is the life of the
flesh as contrasted with the life of the Spirit
of Christ. Just here the Galatian Christians
failed. They begafi in the Spirit, and then
went back to the flesh. "O foolish Gala-
tians," exclaimed Paul, "who hath bewitched
you that you should not obey the truth?"
Would you escape this folly? Remember
that you have nothing so much to dread, noth-
ing so much to watch against, as the flesh,
yourself — your own life in all its phases
apart from Christ in you. Hate it. Stand
on your guard against it. Look up to him.
Exult in him as your life. The Spirit is given
you to seal you to him ; that is, to keep you
every moment in the closest, most intimate
union with him, so that you ma)- be aloof
from the flesh and utterly dead to its touch.
Utterly dead ! You may be told by some
Christians that you are to regard yourself as
"more and more dying unto sin." This is not
what God says. He commands you to reckon
yourself as dead unto sin, just as Christ is
dead unto it. Take the word as God gives it

By His Life. 41

to you. You have perhaps sung the Hues of
the hymn,

Then am I dead to all the world,
And all the world is dead to me.

You meant by this that you were dead to the
world forever; you would not touch it, and
it should not touch you. So now reckon
yourself dead to every form of sin. When
you see any sin in your life, recognize it only
as an alien condemned to death; just as Paul
said, "If I do that I would not, it is no more
I that do it." Be unwilling even for a mo-
ment to hold a passive attitude towards it. Do
not stand waiting to die more and more to
it. Obey God's command. In the power of
the Spirit put it to death. So will you have
life indeed.

An army is made invincible by the advan-
tages of position, prestige, power. So with
the sacramental host. Our position is, "dead
unto sin, and alive unto God in Jesus Christ."
Our prestige is, "Thanks be unto God who
always causeth us to triumph in Christ." Our
power is, "I can do all things through Christ
who strengtheneth me." Then let us put sin,
the world, and the devil under our feet.

CHAPTER V.
The True Bridegroom.

You have now seen the method by which
the sin in your Hfe is overcome. You admit
Christ to dwell in your heart. The light of
his life drives out the darkness. The power
of his life puts under foot the foe. The bread
of his life relieves the weakness. The water
of his life quenches the thirst. The loving
presence of his life supports and fills you
with joy.

"But,"you ask, ''what about the command-
ments? Are they not good? Is not disobe-
dience to them sin ?" Undoubtedly, yes. The
Word of God abounds in commands. Every-
one of them is holy and just and good ; m the
keeping of them there is great reward. Not
to obey the least of them, in heart or in deed,
is sin. These commands taken together are
called the law. And now I have to state to
you a paradox, which you will find in God's
w^ord. In your oneness with Christ you obey
the law, yet you are dead to it ; you study and
meditate on the law, yet you keep aloof from
it. It is of the utmost importance to under-

By His Life. 43

stand this ; yet here again, I would say, the
matter is very simple.

Our Lord, when he was on earth, obeyed
every command of God. He fulfilled the law.
To do this was his delight. Love is the ful-
filling of the law. The whole of his beauti-
ful career was love to the Father and love to
his fellow-men. Not a jot or tittle of the
law did he neglect, or fail to meet perfectly.
He did this to bless us in three ways : First,
as our legal representative, he obeyed that
his obedience might be reckoned as ours. In
this way we are justified. Second, he gave
us an example. In him we see the Father,
that we may ''be imitators of God as dear
children" ; in him we see also the model of a
perfect manhood. Third, he lived a life of
obedience to the law, that he may now impart
this life to us, that we may indeed be imita-
tors of him. This he does by the Spirit.
When he lives in you, joyful obedience to the
law is your life. Love to the Father and love
to men fills your heart. This is what God
means by his promise, "1 will put my laws
into their minds and write them on their
hearts."^ 'T will put my Spirit within you,
and cause you to walk in my statutes, and ye

' Heb. viii. 10.

44 By His Life.

shall keep my judgments and do them."^
Christ in you means obedience to law.

But apart from Christ in you no com-
mand, no precept, given in the Bible, can do
you the least good. You look at the law ; you
see that it is pure and just; you resolve to
obey it. You begin your efforts to live ac-
cording to it. You try ; you strive ; you strug-
gle ; you grasp first at one means, then at
another. The result is always the same — dis-
astrous failure. The good that you would
you do not ; but the evil which you would not,
that you do. And the failure is exasperating.
This law, which vou have spent your energies
in trying to satisfy, looks down on you with
a condemning power. It seems to mock your
fruitless efforts. Discouragement and resent-
ment rise in your heart. "The command-
ment which was ordained to life," you find
"to be unto death" ;- and your experience
under the law ends in wretchedness and
despair.

God knows all this, and he brings you full
relief. He removes you entirely from under
the law. He tells you to have nothing to do
with it. He bids you be utterly dead to it.
He puts you under the gracious power of the
life of his Son, and this is to be your place
' Ezek. xxxvi. 27. -Rom. vii. 10.

By His Life. 45

exclusively. Here it is he speaks to you those
words of comfort and high assurance, "Sin
shall not have dominion over you ; for ye are
not under the law, but under grace. "^ "Now
we are delivered from the law, being dead to
that wherein we were held."- "If ye be led
by the Spirit, ye are not under the law."'^
'* Wherefore, my brethren, ye also are become
dead to the law by the body of Christ.""^

Let us take up an illustration wdiich is sug-
gested by God's word. Here is a woman
married to a man who is altogether just and
upright : but she does not love him. She
knows that she ought to love him ; she wishes
she could ; but she cannot. He sees her fail-
ures, and draws up a treatise on wifely duties,
setting forth many rules and precepts that
should shape her life in the marital bond. He
puts it in her hands for her guidance. As
she reads it her conscience assents to the cor-
rectness and truth of every word ; she resolves
that she will try to live by it. But she finds
that in all the precepts and all the rules there
is one principle that she must obey ; she must
love, and that is the one thing she cannot do.
She argues with herself. She makes resolu-
tions. She summons the whole strength of

'Rom. vi. 15. ^Rom. vii. 6 (marg.). ^Gal. v. 4.
■^Rom. vii. 4.

46 By His Life.

her will. She agonizes. All in vain ! The
spirit of the treatise draws her one way ; her
heart draws her the opposite way. In fact,
this treatise has not only not wakened her
love; it has deepened her aversion. It has
made her conscious that her husband sees her
evil heart; he searches her through and
through ; he sits in judgment on her; he con-
demns her. Her animosity is aroused. She
dreads him. As she is subject to him, she
cannot get rid of the bond that holds her : yet
it is intolerable. In her weakness and de-
spair she cries out, "O my wretchedness !
Who can deliver me from a bondage worse
than death ?"

This is the picture of yourself subject to
the law, and trying to obey it.

But the husband dies. He and his treatise
are buried together. The woman marries
again. Now she is wedded to a noble hus-
band, whose tenderness and grace draw out
all the love of her heart. She rejoices in the
light of his smile. Her devotion is complete.
How delightful the service that gives him
pleasure ! How precious the bond that holds
her to him ! How rich the hours she spends
in his presence! She remembers now the
buried treatise. All its rules and precepts on
wifely duty are hers, yet how dififerent ! In

By His Life. 47

the first marriage the precepts were written
on paper; in the second marriage they are
inscribed on her heart. Then it was impos-
sible to obey them ; now obedience to them is
the very impulse and movement of her life.
Once her condition was worse than death;
now all her days are joy and peace.

This is the picture of yourself separated
from the law, dead to it, and one with Jesus
Christ as the heavenly bridegroom. Listen
to the word of God : "The woman which hath
an husband is bound by the law to her hus-
band so long as he liveth ; but if the husband
be dead, she is loosed from the law of her
husband * ^ ^^ Wherefore, my brethren,
3^e also are become dead to the law by the
body of Christ ; that ye should be married to
another, even to him who is raised from the
dead, that we should bring forth fruit unto
God."

Now you see the beauty and truth of the
paradox — dead to the law, and yet obeying
the law. The law could give you no life, no
strength, no joy. You are as dead to it as
the woman is dead to the husband who has
slept ten years in his grave. But you are
again a wife. You are married to our living
Lord. The Song of songs was written to
celebrate the joys of this union. You and he

48 By His Life.

are one body. His life has become your life.
He said, "I delight to do thy will, O my
God; yea, thy law is within my heart." So
now the law of God is within your heart ; you
delight to do his will. The spirit of love
reigns. How easy obedience has become !
It is the spontaneous movement of your life.
When you were subject to commands and
precepts., your experience was sin and death.
Now you ^o forward leaning upon the Be-
loved, who pours into you the tide of his own
purity and joy, and rejoices to adorn you with
all the jewels of his grace. This is life in-
deed. This is life eternal. Well may you
say, *T thank God through Jesus Christ, our
Lord."

And so you now readily understand the
other part of the paradox — entirely aloof
from the law, yet daily studying and medita-
ting on it. The law is a mirror of the life
of Christ. Every command shows you the
lines of some beautiful feature of his charac-
ter. The more deeply you understand it, the
more clearly do you see the life the Master
led — the life he now imparts to you. Scan
closely every command. Take in all that it
means. Yet. beware ! Reach not out to-
wards it for comfort or strength. Expect no
help from it. It is a lifeless thing. It bears

By His Life. 49

on its face its own impotence. It shows you
Christ ; it brings you to him. It can do no
more.

So important is this point that again I take
an illustration. On that dark day which shad-
owed the crucifixion of our Lord, one of the
Galilsean women who had followed him in
ministrations of love finds herself separated
from him. In the thronging streets of the
city in which he has just been condemned,
she knows not which way to turn. She is
reproaching herself that she has allowed
some object to draw her off from him whom
she loves, and her heart aches to be with him
again. Suddenly she espies a Roman soldier
coming out of the judgment hall of Pilate,
bearing something in his hand. As he has-
tens by, she sees that the thing he carries is
a wooden tablet, and with a quick glance she
catches the words, "This is Jesus of Naza-
reth, the King."

At once she divines the meaning. Press-
ing after the soldier, she threads the narrow
streets and passes out of the city gate. The
inscription borne before her deepens her self-
condemnation. It is her King meek and lowly
from whom she is separated. It was the King
in his beauty from whom she turned aside.
But now she has reached the knoll on which

50 By His Life.

three crosses stand. The soldier takes a ham-
mer and nail, and the tablet is nailed to the
central cross. No longer does the poor soul
cast her glances on the bit of wood. No
longer does the inscription speak reproach to
her heart. She is with her King.

What the tablet did for her is just what
every command of God's word must now do
for you. Be wise, Be true, Be loving, Be
humble. Be strong — such are the commands.
Each of them bears on its face the inscription,
''This is Jesus of Nazareth, the King." Just
such is he. Are you self -condemned in view
of the inscription ? Undoubtedly ; but do not
pause. Follow immediately to the spot where
he is who gave his life for us. The com-
mandment was intended only to bring you to
the crucified One. He is the end of the law.
As soon as you reach him you are done with
the commandment. It ''was against us," to
use the language of Paul to the Colossians :
i'i "was contrary to us," and so God, he says,
"took it out of the way, nailing it to his
cross."

CHAPTER VI.
Out of the Wilderness.-

The law out of the way ! The law nailed
to the cross ! Do not be surprised that your
attention is pressed to this fact. Thousands
of Christians are in sorrow to-day because
they do not perceive it. They are trying by
prayer, by reading the Bible, by resolutions,
by doing many works, to keep the law as they
see that it was kept by Christ. They are
struggling in their own strength to be good.
Did they understand their deadness to the
law and their oneness with Christ, they might
be filled with power and joy. The late Dr.
John W. Pratt declared that, if all Christians
could apprehend the truth that they are not
under law, but under grace, "the whole com-
plexion of the church would be changed."

Trying to keep the law is the experience
of the wilderness. Dead to the law and one
with Christ is the victorious march and the
rest in Canaan. In the Seventh Chapter of
Romans we have the wilderness experience
of the New Testament. The key-words of
that chapter are the law and the flesh. They

52 By His Life.

occur twenty-six times. Are you not familiar
with the painful struggle, the almost des-
pairing effort, presented there? "The good
that I would I do not; but the evil which I
would not, that I do. * * I find then a law,
that, when I would do good, evil is present
with me. * * Q wretched man that I am !
Who shall deliver me from the body of this
death?" Is it not a wilderness indeed? In
the Eighth Chapter of Romans we have the
Canaan experience of the New Testament.
The key-words of this chapter are the Spirit
and life. They occur nineteen times in the
first seventeen verses. ''The Spirit of life in
Christ Jesus" makes us "more than con-
c[uerors," and gives us now a boundless in-
heritance of peace and good.

Are you willing to stay in the wilderness?
Can you consent to make the experience of
the Seventh of Romans the limit of your ex-
perience? You will be told by some Chris-
tians, perhaps by many, that there is no get-
ting beyond the Seventh of Romans in this
v/orld. Just so there were some in the host
of Israel — yes, many — who declared at Ka-
desh-Barnea that they could not advance be-
yond the wilderness. Such was not the
thought of the primitive Christians — the
Spirit-filled men and women who, in the

By His Life. 53

early centuries, went forth preaching the gos-
pel to every creature. They saw in that vivid
description of struggle and failure in the
Seventh of Romans a portraiture of the man
who has not yet learned what it is to be dead
to the law. "It appears," says Dr. Charles
Hodge, "that during the first three centuries
the fathers were generally agreed in consid-
ering the passage, as descriptive of the expe-
rience of one yet under the law."^ In our
day not a few Christians are waking to see
the passage in the same light. The late Dr.
John A. Broadus, whose praise was in all the
churches, wrote:

"In this remarkable passage in the Seventh
Chapter of Romans, over which so many re-
ligious controversies have been waged, and
over which — what is ten thousand times bet-
ter than religious controversies — have bent
many troubled, yet trusting hearts, as they
found themselves exactly portrayed — in this
passage the Apostle first points out what is
the best the law can do to make a man holy :
what is the best that a man can do in the way
of becoming holy by just trying to do what
is right, simply trying in his own strength to

^ In quoting from Dr. Charles Hodge and other
authors, I need hardly say that a quotation does
not imply concurrence in all that they teach.

54 By His Life.

do what he learns from God's law to be right.
* * * Here is the Apostle's answer."

''There has been a good deal of controversy
between what are called Calvinists and what
are called Arminians, as to whether this pas-
sage gives the experience of a renewed or of
an unrenewed man, I think the truth is, as
some recent writers have been showing, that
it does not really give either, but gives the
experience of any man, either renewed or un-
renewed, who is looking to the law to make
him holy. Renewed men often fall back on
that." To fall back on that, let me say in
passing, is what the New Testament calls
"falling from grace. "^

Now, there are some exoressions in the
passage spoken of which, I think, belong es-
pecially to the renewed man; but, without
pausing to discuss them, allow me to say that
I venture to hope the day is approaching
when the view held by the primitive Chris-
tians, and stated in substance by Dr. Broadus,
will be generally held in the church. There
is no doubt that the graphic style of the
passage in which Paul gives his experience,
has led some to the opinion that he is describ-
ing his condition at the time he wrote. The
fact is, he was careful to mark it as a past
' Gal V. 4.

By His Life. 55

experience. In the fifth and sixth verses he
says, "For when zvc zvere in the flesh, the
sinful passions, which were by the law, did
work in our in embers to bring forth fruit unto
death. But nozv zve are delivered from the
law, that being dead wherein zve were held;
that we should serve in newness of spirit, and
not in the oldness of the letter." The law and
the flesh with him were things of the past.
Then to show that the struggle of sinful pas-
sion in the man who is under the law is no
fault of the law, he draws the vivid picture
of himself when he was striving in the flesh —
that is, by his own efforts — to keep the law.
The effect of the description is greatly height-
ened by the use of the present tense, yet it
is the use of this tense which has misled some
readers. We might illustrate the line of
thought and the style of the Apostle by the
case of a man who writes to show that blank-
ets and ice will not cure chills and fever.
There is no fault to be found with blankets
and ice, but the remedy needed is quinine.
The man writes :

''When I was a soldier in the swamps below
Richmond, and had no quinine, I was racked
with fever and ague. Now that I have qui-
nine, I am entirely free from such attacks.
Think of it! Here I am lying in a tent. A

56 By His Life.

chill seizes me. I pile blankets over me, but
am not a bit warmer; in fact, am cold as
death. The fever follows. I fairly burn. Ice
is brought, but it does no good. How utterly
wretched I am ! I thank God for the discov-
ery of quinine."

Here no one thinks for a moment that the
writer uses the present tense to describe his
experience at the time of writing. He has
distinctly marked the experience as belong-
ing to the past. So Paul writes in the Seventh
of Romans. It was in the day when he strove
to keep the law that he found no comfort. It
was a desert through which he passed before
he reached the land of corn and wine and oil.

In the best Christian life on earth there are
three distinct stages. Painted on the histori-
cal canvas of the Old Testament they are, out
of Egypt ; through the wilderness ; the vic-
torious advance and rest in Canaan. Drawn
with the lines of spiritual reality which mark
the New Testament they are, out of the king-
dom of darkness ; the flesh in its struggle to
keep the law ; dead to the law, in Christ Jesus
overcoming all sin. The experience of Paul
in the wilderness conflict, we may be sure,
was intense. He had been driven out to that
gloomy desert over which Mount Sinai
frowns with beetling crags (Gal. i. 17, iv.

By His Life. 57

25). Here, as is supposed by many, the
struggle occurred. After this came the
Canaan triumph and rest.

We speak of rest. It is not the rest of in-
activity ; not the rest of a stick or a stone. It
is the rest of joy, the rest of peace, the rest of
assured triumph. When the army of the
nation is in doubtful conflict, and the tide of
fearful battle surges to and fro, there is no
rest. When the army moves steadily for-
ward, victorious at every point, sure of sweep-
ing the field, there is rest. Just so there is a
difference among Christians. Some carry on
a conflict that is strained, often marred by re-
verses. Others wage a conflict that is full of
rest. Let us see how this is.

At the foot of Mount Sinai there was
fought a battle. Amalek has attacked Israel.
All day long victory hangs in the balance.
Now Amalek presses forward with shouting,
and Israel is driven back. Then Israel rallies,
there is a new burst of courage and purpose,
and Amalek yields ground. On the mountain
above, the hands of Moses are lifted up to
God. Israel prevails. But how wearisome!
From sheer exhaustion they drop down.
Amalek prevails. Aaron and Hur support
Moses. The host on the plain below, for
whom thev intercede, is God's host. It has

58 By His Life.

come out of Egypt. It has been strength-
ened by the manna from heaven. It has been
refreshed by the water out of the rock. It
has the pillar of cloud and fire for its guide.
Yet how hard and stubborn and changeful
this fight ! even though victory at last he won.
Such is the battle at the foot of Sinai ; and
such is the conflict which the New Testa-
ment describes as the flesh lusting against
the Spirit and the Spirit against the flesh.

You have come out of the world. You
hear the command of Christ, Follow me.
Every command is law. You rise to obey the
law. On one side are the forces of the
Spirit — the voice of the Spirit speaking the
command of Christ; the light of the Spirit
showing the example of Christ; the grace of
the Spirit bringing some taste of the refresh-
ment of Christ. On the other side are the
forces of the flesh — the selfish, earthly de-
sires which war against the life of Christ.
Sometimes the Spirit prevails, sometimes the
flesh. You pray; your friends pray for you;
yet, again and again, the victory seems in
suspense. It is an arduous, a wearing, and
wavering struggle. The flesh is lusting
against the Spirit and the Spirit against the
flesh, that you may not do the things that
you would. You do not perceive where your

By His Life. 59

difficulty lies. You have allowed yourself to
remain under law. "Walk in the Spirit, and
ye shall not fulfil the lust of the flesh. For
the flesh lusteth against the Spirit, and the
Spirit against the flesh : and these are con-
trary the one to the other: so that ye may
not do the things that ye would. But if ye
be led of the Spirit, ye are not under the law."
But there is another battle. No longer is
Israel at the foot of Sinai. He has crossed
the Jordan, the river of death. He is dead
to the whole territory of law, and Moses, the
personification of law, is dead to him. At
Gibeon the allied armies of the Canaanites
are massed to resist his progress. He ad-
vances to attack at daybreak. His strength is
no longer sustained by that light food, the
manna. His bold, sinewy movement comes
from stronger meat ; he has eaten of the corn
of Gilgal, and has drunk of the wine of
Engedi. On the march, his refreshment is
drawn no longer from a single stream flow-
ing through a desert ; the land he is on is
watered with the copious showers from
heaven. Now he is not guided by a pfllar of
cloud and fire; at the head of the column
which crossed the Jordan is the ark, which
concealed, while it contained, the law — the
type of him who said, ''I delight to do thy

6o By His Life.

will, O my God : yea, thy law is within my
heart."

Amid these new and inspiring circum-
stances he throws himself against the confed-
erated armies. The onset is irresistible. At
every point the enemy give way. The de-
feat becomes a rout. The pursuit is hot to
Beth-horon.- The day is not long enough to
gather the spoils of conquest, and the sun
stands still over Gibeon, and the moon over
the valley of Ajalon. The royal leaders of
the enemy are all taken ; the feet of the cap-
tains are put on their necks", and they are
slain. It has been a day of uninterrupted
triumph and complete success ; and such a day
is rest.

And now, who is the man that has this
joyous, restful life? Who is the man that
says, "Thanks be unto God who always
causeth us to triumph in Christ"? Who is
the man that exults in the words, 'Tn all
these things we are more than conquerors
through him that loved us" ? Who is the man
that looks out over the whole domain of work
and service and says, "I can do all things
through Christ, who strengtheneth me"?
Who is the man that says, "We who have be-
lieved do enter into rest"?

It is the man who learned, perhaps through

By His Life. 6i

many failures, that he himself could not fol-
low in the steps of Christ, he could not keep
the law. His own wisdom, his own strength,
his own aspirations, his own goodness, have
availed nothing. He crucifies them all. He
crucifies his entire self. He is as a lifeless,
helpless thing, waiting to be filled with the
fulness of the life of Christ. And who ever
v/aited thus before our most loving and com-
passionate King without being filled? The
Spirit of life now flows into him with a joy-
ous fulness. What a change in the whole
man ! As in the days of old the withered and
childless Abram became the fruitful Abra-
ham, as the lame and despairing Jacob be-
came the princely, prevailing Israel, as the
envious, struggling Hoshea of the wilderness
became the Joshua of Canaan, so now the
humiliated and helpless Simon, son of Jonas,
becomes the bold and triumphant Peter, the
dejected Saul of Arabia becomes the victori-
ous Paul, the leader of the missionary enter-
prise for the world. Here we have the Spirit-
filled man. With what confidence he may now
advance against every foe. Every promise on
the pages of God's word is made to him.
Every place that the sole of his foot treads
upon is his. No one shall be able to stand
before him all the days of his life. He shall
never be ashamed.

62 By His Life.

And now do you wonder that you are urged
to be a Spirit-filled man? Is not this indeed
the glorious gospel of the blessed God? As
the love of the Master to you passes knowl-
edge, could he offer you anything less than
the success which is here held before you?
At Kadesh-Barnea there were two men who
preached a gospel of unqualified success.
Those who preached a gospel of discourage-
ment were against them five to one. The
vast crowd around raised a cry to stone them.
Yet Caleb and Joshua stood, faithful found
among the faithless. They held fast the
words of unclouded triumph which they had
received. God commended them, and gave
them a rich reward.

They did not withdraw from their brethren
of the tribes. They recognized the truth that
they were members of a body, and their aim
was the welfare of all its members. They suf-
fered : they were held back forty years by the
unbelief of the host. Yet the day came when
their testimony was acknowledged by every
tribe. They entered the land flowing with
milk and honey. At Ai they were again re-
minded that they were members of a body,
and when one member suffers all the members
suffer with it. But the record concerning
Caleb remained steadfast, that he followed

By His Life. 63

the Lord wholly. He who bore the humblest
name in Israel — Caleb, the dog, — won the
choicest inheritance of Canaan, and all around
him ''the land had rest from war."^

The same gospel of success which was of-
fered the men of Israel at Kadesh-Barnea has
been offered to us. "For unto us was the
gospel preached," says the inspired writer,
''as well as unto them." "We see that they
could not enter in because of unbelief." "Let
us give diligence therefore to enter into that
rest, lest any man fall after the same example
of unbelief. "-

'Josh. xiv. 15, 15. -Heb. iii., iv.

CHAPTER VII.

The Peffect Man.

We HAVE seen that there is only one per-
fect man in the universe — our adorable
Saviour and King. We have seen, too, that
he sends down his own Spirit of life to fill
his willing people. And now I wish to call
your attention to the fact that, in the New
Testament, those who receive this fulness of
the life of Christ are called perfect. In that
passage in the Epistle to the Ephesians in
which Paul tells us that Jesus made his de-
scent to this world and his ascent far above
all heavens for the purpose of filling all
things, a contrast is drawn between the imma-
ture Christians, who have not been filled, and
the mature Christians who have the fulness
of Christ. The immature are described as
children, tossed to and fro, and carried about
with every wind of doctrine ; the mature are
described as those who have attained, through
the faith and knowledge of the Son of God,
''unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the
stature of the fulness of Christ."^
' Ephes. iv. 13.

By His Life. 65

"A perfect man" is the expression of the
Holy Spirit. Yet we live in a day when the
word perfection seems to be the dread of
many Christians. In fact, this consummate
term of God's vocabulary has been changed
by some into a stigma of reproach, and we
hear certain Christians branded as being "per-
fectionists." Unhappily, it does not seem to
occur to those who speak in this way that, as
God uses language, there is some reproach
attached to imperfection. It is important,
therefore, that we understand clearly what
the Scriptures teach on this point.

To Abraham, the father of all who believe,
the command came, with its assuring pre-
face, "I am the Almighty God ; walk before
me, and be thou perfect." Then it was he
received the rite of circumcision, the sign
of the putting away of all sin. Then it was
his name was changed from Abram to Abra-
ham— the father of a great multitude; and
then the promise was given him, 'T will make
thee exceeding fruitful." Not till then was
the son of promise born to him. It may be
that not a few Christian workers, in the home
land and in the foreign field, have found
their work unfruitful because they have not
accepted the command of God to be perfect,
and have not obeyed in spiritual reality as
Abraham obeyed in type.

(^ By His Life.

When the heart-searching, yet most blessed,
words of the Sermon on the Mount were
spoken by our Lord, he said to his disciples,
"Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father
which is in heaven is perfect." The perfec-
tion of our Heavenly Father, of which the
Saviour spoke, is his mercy and kindness to
the ungrateful and the evil. There is one
way, and but one, in which we may have this
perfection; it is to be filled with the Spirit
of the Father, sent down to us through the
Son.

Our Lord made a definite offer of perfec-
tion to the young ruler. He said, "If thou
wilt be perfect, go and sell that thou hast, and
give to the poor, and thou slialt have treasure
in heaven : and come, follow me." Had the
young man been willing to part with all
that he held dearest, he would have obtained
this pearl of great price.

Many of the primitive Christians had the
fulness of the vSpirit of Christ, and were reck-
oned as perfect. Yet Paul, when he wrote
to the Corinthians, was compelled to say,
*'We speak wisdom amono^ them that are per-
fect. * ^ =!= And I, brethren, could not
speak unto you as unto spiritual, but as unto
carnal, even as unto babes in Christ." In the
church at Corinth there were men of learning,

By His Life. 67

gifted in speech — "enriched in all utterance
and in all knowledge." They had received
the grace of God, and were truly his children.
But they lacked the fulness of the Spirit, and
allowed envy and strife to dwell in their
hearts. It is impossible for such men to ap-
prehend the highest truth of a holy life on
earth. Paul could speak this truth to the per-
fect, but not to them. As to spiritual intelli-
gence and spiritual power, they were babes.

It was, therefore, the recognized object of
the true spiritual leaders in the primitive
church to have all the members of the church
perfect. Epaphras was "s. faithful minister
of Christ" to the church at Colosse, and he
was "always laboring fervently" for them in
prayers, that they might "stand perfect and
complete in all the will of God." Paul de-
clared that this was the great object of his
own ministry: "Christ in you, the hope of
glory : whom we preach, warning every man,
and teaching every man in all wisdom ; that
we may present every man perfect in Christ
Jesus." He rebuked the Hebrew Christians
because he had to be repeating to them the
elementary truths of the gospel. They were
not able to receive and digest the "strong
meat which," he said, "belongeth to them that
are perfect."^ "Therefore," he added, "leav-
^ Heb. V. 14, marg.

68 By His Life.

ing the first principles of the doctrine of
Christ, let us go unto perfection."

The Master himself, as he looked down
from heaven, rebuked the messenger of the
church in Sardis. 'Tor I have not found thy
works," he said, "perfect before God." The
word perfect in this sentence is a translation
of the Greek w^ord filled. The works of the
messenger did not fulfil the righteousness of
God, for they were not filled with the Spirit
of Christ.

With such declarations as these on the
pages of God's word — and we might quote
more to the same eft'ect — he is a rash man
who neglects the command of God to be per-
fect, or is careless whether he be found in the
ranks of those who, in the New Testament,
are called perfect. It is needless to say, after
the statements made on the preceding pages,
that the perfection presented to us here is no
perfection of our own. Our own life was a
failure — worse than a failure; it had to be
crucified. We ourselves are nothing; we
must ever remain nothing. All that we have
of wisdom or holiness or power is Christ in
us. He alone is our perfection. Here it is,
in the profoundest degree, we veil our faces
and say, "Not unto us, O Lord, not unto us,
but unto thy name give glory." It is impos-

By His Life. 69

sible that the perfection of the child of God be
found save in company with the deepest hu-
miHty and self-abnegation.

Yet it is a perfection constantly reaching
out to a higher and nobler state. It is a per-
fection of enlarging capacity. It is a perfec-
tion which is changing from glory to glory.
It presses forward to better things. The stir-
ring figure sketched by Paul, when he speaks
of himself and those in the church at Philippi
who were perfect, is that of the racer in the
games. He is making a splendid run. Every
movement is perfect. Yet see him. His eye
is fixed on the goal. There is the supreme
prize — the resurrection from the dead at the
call of God. There he is to be perfected with
a perfection thus far unknown. In view of it
he counts himself neither to have attained nor
to be perfect. He is unmindful of the course
already passed over. He forgets what is be-
hind ; he reaches forth unto that which is be-
fore. He presses towards the glorious end.
''Let us therefore, as many as be perfect," he
adds, ''be thus minded."

Perfect and yet to be perfected : in this he
followed the Master. Filled with the Spirit
of the Father, Jesus was perfect ; yet he looked
forward to the day when he should be per-
fected at his resurrection. "Behold," he said,

70 By His Life.

"I cast out devils, and I do cures to-day and
to-morrow, and the third day I shall be per-
fected." He, too, had an enlarging capacity,
and was changed from glory to glory. The
Captain of our salvation w^as made ''perfect
through sufferings."^ "Though he were a
son, yet learned he obedience by the things
which he suffered ; and being made perfect,
he became the author of eternal salvation."^
His whole life on earth was a growth, a pro-
gress from one stage of perfection to another.
Just so he desires his people to grow in
grace. The branch on the vine, filled in
every fibre with life and sap, as it first puts
forth its tender leaves, is a perfect branch.
Soon the fragrant bloom appears, shedding
around the "delicious proof of the blessing
of God. The branch is more perfect now
than before. The days go on : heavy clusters
of fruit hang in the air, not ready to be gath-
ered, yet beautiful in shape, with every emer-
ald globe distended by the store drawn from
the vine. We see that the branch is still more
perfect. At last the sun has empurpled all
the weighted clusters, and the kindling juices
are ripe for the use of man. As the vine-
dresser looks on the branch, with the highest
satisfaction he pronounces it perfect. Its

' Heb. ii. lo. -Heb. v. 8, 9.

By His Life. 71

treasures are gathered in and laid at the mas-
ter's feet. Perfect at every stage, because
filled with the life of the vine. "In that day
sing ye unto her, A vineyard of red wine. I
the Lord do keep it ; I will water it every
moment : lest any hurt it, I will keep it night
and day."^

This perfection, too, not only reaches up to
a higher state, it reaches down, in pity and
love, to the poorest of the earth. "If thou
wilt be perfect, go and sell that thou hast, and
give to the poor." It holds back nothing from
the destitute. Though it be rich, it becomes
poor for the sake of others ; and its record in
the world is, ''poor, yet making many rich."
In pouring out its streams of beneficence to
men, it makes no exceptions. It blesses those
who curse ; it does good to those who hate ; it
prays for those who persecute. This is the
''perfect love" that "casteth out fear." What
a wonderful effect ! It casteth out fear. "It
banishes all doubts as to our present ac-
ceptance with God, dispels all anxiety con-
cerning the future, relieves us of all fear of
the world, and fills us with peace and joy."
The disciple that leaned upon the bosom of
Jesus has told us, "He that feareth is not made
perfect in love." And is this perfection in
'Isaiah xxvii. 2, 3.

72 By His Life.

love, this lily of the lowly life, at all a plant
of our own heart? Again we say, far from
it. "If we love one another, God dwelleth in
ns, and his love is perfected in us." Perfect
love is simply God dwelling in you ; it is the
fulness of Christ in you, the hope of glory.

CHAPTER VIII.
An Insoluble Question.

When you accept the command of God to
be perfect, and trust in his power to work this
grace in you, you may expect some one to ask
you whether you believe in "sinless perfec-
tion." The question put to you is, whether
the man who has the fulness of Christ, the
Spirit-filled man, is ever sinless in this world.
We may be sure that the Bible teaches us
what we shall say to this. Let us listen to the
word that comes from the mouth of God.

And first, he tells us that he alone searches
and knows the heart of man. "The heaven
for height, and the earth for depth, and the
heart of kings is unsearchable." "Who can
understand his errors?" "I the Lord search
the heart, I try the reins." Only in the divine
crucible can the lowest analysis be made of
that which is precious in our lives and that
which is dross. "The fining pot is for silver,
and the furnace for gold : but the Lord trieth
the hearts." It is obvious, therefore, that no
man of good judgment will undertake to
render a verdict on his own life. The Apostle

74 By His Life.

Paul could declare openly to his fellow Chris-
tians the witness of his conscience as to the
blamelessness of his own life; but there he
paused. ''I judge not myself," he said; "he
that judgeth me is the Lord." Let us be imi-
tators of Paul.

In the next place, we observe that God
wishes us to set no limit to what he may do in
us by the power of his Spirit. He says, ''T
am the Almighty God ; walk before me, and
be thou perfect." Because the "exceeding
greatness of his power" is pledged for our
good, his command to us, Be perfect, is just.
"Give what thou commandest," said Augus-
tine, "and then command what thou wilt."
What he gives us is "according to the work-
ing of his mighty power, which he wrought in
Christ, when he raised him from the dead."
In the magnificent prayer which Paul offered
for the Christians at Ephesus, he seems to ex-
haust the resources of speech in summing
up the fulness of grace which he desires them
to possess in their hearts. "Strengthened with
might by his Spirit in the inner man," "Christ
may dwell in your hearts by faith," "able to
comprehend with all saints what is the breadth
and length and depth and height," "filled unto
all the fulness of God" — such are some of the
expressions he uses. Can words compass a

By His Life. 75

greater measure of sanctification than is stated
here ? Can any limit be set to the grace which
this language unfolds ? Well, men sometimes
show a curious art in limiting what God does
not limit ; so Paul proceeds to sweep away all
conceivable metes and bounds. He tells the
Ephesians that God is able to do not only
w^hat he prays for, but even more. ''Unto him
that is able to do exceeding abundantly above
all that we ask or think, according to the
power that worketh in us, unto him be glory
in the church by Christ Jesus."

The man who limits what God is willing
or is able to do in him by the Holy Spirit,
dishonors God. "They limited the Holy One
of Israel" — this is what shut Israel out from
the triumphs and possessions of Canaan and
caused the multitude to fall in the wilderness.^
This it is that now holds back not a few of
the people of Christ from a career of joy and
success. Of course, if God has set a limit
anywhere, we are bound, with all humility,
to respect it. But what limit has he set to
our ability to do the things that give pleasure
to him? Which is the first and great com-
mandment? Thou shalt love the Lord thy
God with all thy heart and with all thy soul.
And what is the promise which he gives in re-

' Psalm Ixxviii. 41.

76 By His Life.

gard to it? "The Lord thy God will circum-
cise thine heart and the heart of thy seed
to love the Lord thy God with all thine heart
and with all thy soul." Is there any limita-
tion here ?

Nay, the constant effort of our Lord Jesus,
when he moved among men, was to persuade
them not to limit God. 'Tf thou canst believe,
all. things are possible to him that believeth. '
"If ye have faith as a grain of mustard seed,
nothing shall be impossible unto you." "Who-
soever shall believe that those things which
he saith shall come to pass, he shall have
whatsoever he saith." "Whatsoever ye shall
ask in my name, that will I do." "Be it unto
thee even as thou wilt." If any man wishes
to make the most of his life on earth, he must
practice a sublime freedom; he must put no
limit to what God will do for him and through
him, according to the power that worketh in
him.

"Ah!" says some one, "that is all very true
about God ; we must not limit him ; but we
have to do our part in this matter. Our part
is to accept the Spirit of Christ, and here
there must be more or less of failure, as our
acceptance is imperfect." And pray, I ask,
who gives you power to accept at all? Was
not your hand withered and your whole arm

By His Life. yj

palsied? Who bid you stretch it forth, and
gave you power to obey the command ? And
if you cannot stretch it forth to accept the
smallest thing without the gift of power from
Christ, do you mean that he cannot or will
not give you the power to stretch it forth to
the full, and to open your hand wide to re-
ceive all that he has to bestow? And when
you say that your acceptance must be feeble
or imxperfect, do you not see that this is only a
more subtle way of limiting the gift of God
and the power of his grace?

We said that faith is the empty hand
stretched out to receive the gift of God. We
''receive the promise of the Spirit through
faith" ; we are "sanctified by faith" ; Christ
dwells in our ''hearts by faith"; our hearts
are "cleansed by faith"; "we walk by faith,"
and "by faith" we "stand." And do you not
know that this faith is the gift of Christ?
"Saved through faith," says Paul, "and that
not of yourselves, it is the gift of God."
Will you limit God's gift? Jesus is "the
author and finisher (perfecter, Greek) of
our faith." Will you limit the finish or per-
fection God gives to his own work? When
Stephen is said to have been full of the Holy
Ghost, he is said also to have been "full of
faith." Surclv Jesus took a broad view of

78 By His Life.

things, and do you think there was anything
lacking in the extent of faith when he said,
"O woman, great is thy faith"?

Of course every creature of God, whether
in heaven or on earth, is a limited being. The
question is not at all as to our limited capac-
ity. The question is, whether our capacity
being finite, there is any limit to our being
filled to the utmost of our capacity. And
here we declare that there is no limit. The
tabernacle set up by Moses was a finite
structure, but there was no limit to its being
filled with the glory of God. The cloud which
made the earth shine with brightness covered
it, and the glory of the Lord filled it.^ The
earthenware jar is limited, but when it is
plunged in the vast ocean there is no limit to
its being full. It is in the ocean, and the
ocean is in it. And so, we say, when a man
abides in Christ and Christ in him, there is
no limit to his being filled. This is "the ful-
ness of the blessing of Christ." This is being
"filled unto all the fulness of God."

When a man is thus filled with the Spirit
of Christ, it seems a matter of course that he
is conscious of being filled with the love, the
purity, the humility, the courage and truth
of Christ. His conscience — for so our Eng-
^ Ex. xl. 34, 35; Ezek. xliii. 2.

By His Life. 79

lish Bible translate the Greek word for con-
sciousness— is pure. His heart, to use the
expression of the Apostle John, condemns
him not. Look at that man who was once a
blasphemer and a persecutor, the chief of sin-
ners, now washed and filled with the Spirit.
See with wdiat variety of expression he as-
serts the purity of his conscience and life.
"Our rejoicing is this, the testimony of our
conscience, that in holiness and sincerity of
God we behaved ourselves in the world."
"I have lived in all good conscience before
God until this day." "1 am conscious of
nothing against myself."^ "Ye are wit-
nesses, and God also, how holily, and justly
and unblameably we behaved ourselves
among you that believe." "Not I, but Christ
liveth in me." "For me to live is Christ."

See how he sends down through the centu-
ries the summons to us all to imitate him.
"Brethren, be ye imitators of me, and mark
them which so walk as ye have us for an
ensample." His commendation of the Thes-
salonians was, "Ye became imitators of us and
of the Lord." In writing to the Philippians
he sums up everything true, everything hon-
orable, everything just, everything pure,
everything lovely, everything of good report,
' Compare R. V. and Greek Test, on i Cor. iv, 4.

8o By His Life.

whatever there be that is virtuous, whatever
worthy of praise, and then gives two com-
mands— one in the abstract, ''think on these
things" ; the other in the concrete, ''Those
things which ye have both learned and re-
ceived, and heard, and seen in me, do." The
whole catalogue of graces was exemplified in
him. After the labors of three years among
the Ephesians, he said to the elders of the
church, "In all things I gave you an exam-
ple." After a long and intimate association
with Timothy, the aged apostle, in the closing
days of his life, wrote to his young brother
in words of praise. "Thou didst follow my
teaching, conduct, purpose, faith, long suffer-
ing, patience." His fellow-worker had seen
and copied a model life.

Here then we have the pattern of a Spirit-
filled man. With a pure conscience, he calls
upon God and men to witness that his life
h holy and just and unblameable: for him to
live in Christ ; yet he refrains from pronounc-
ing the final verdict on himself. Do you
admire the prudence with which he stops and
refuses to judge himself? Do you commend
this wise reserve? Then read all that he says
about this matter of judging. "I judge not
mine own self. For I know (am conscious
of) nothing against myself; yet am I not
hereby justified; but he that judgeth me is the

By His Life. 8i

Lord. \Mierefore judge nothing before the
time, until the Lord come, who will both
bring to light the hidden things of darkness,
and make manifest the counsels of the hearts ;
and then shall each man have his praise from
God."

You see that just as he judged not him-
self, he commands others not to judge him.
His own perception could discover nothing
in himself but the Spirit of Christ — "For me
to live is Christ." His conscience acquitted
him. This acquittal might, or might not,
agree with the judgment of his omniscient
Lord. Only the last day could show how
this was. As he therefore held his judgment
in suspense, others should hold their judg-
ments in suspense concerning him. The wise
reserve which he maintained, his fellow-
Christians must maintain when they spoke
of him. And yet have his fellow-Christians
in all cases done this ? Nay, verily ; repeat-
edly the reserve has been broken on two sides.
On one side some have declared that Paul
and every Spirit-filled man with him did
daily break the commandments of God in
thought, word, and deed. On the other side
some have declared that Paul and every other
Spirit-filled man did no sin. In both cases a
judgment was rendered which no man is com-
petent to pronounce.

82 By His Life.

There are some questions which God has
put under the ban. They are indeterminate
here. For us to attempt to decide them is
wrong. 'TooHsh and unlearned questions
avoid," says the Holy Spirit, ''knowing that
they gender strifes." An unlearned question
is one which human learning cannot solve,
and which a true learning therefore avoids.
Such questions are, of course, foolish, and as
the discussion of them can lead to no defi-
nite result, they are sure to excite strife. To
this class belongs the question whether a man
filled with the Spirit of Christ is sinning in
his heart. From its very nature no human
mind can penetrate it to the bottom and give
a true answer. Therefore avoid it ; pass it by.

If the man who believes himself to be
Spirit-filled asserts that he is entirely free
from sin, he takes a presumptuous position,
from which there w411 probably be a fall
through pride. If, on the other hand, it is
declared that the Spirit-filled man daily sins
in thought, word, and deed, a low standard of
holy living is set forth, Avhich is unwarranted
by God's word, and which leads many Chris-
tians to palliate and tolerate their sins. In a
religious paper not long ago an incident was
told, which seemed to be presented as an
amusing jest, though in reality it has a very
serious side. When the late Justice Strong,

By His Life. 83

of the Supreme Court of the United States,
was a boy, his father, who was a minister,
found him one day stealing something from
the cupboard. ''Don't you know, my son,'
said .the father, ''that you are breaking one of
the commandments of God?" "Yes, father,"
repHed the boy, remembering the catechism
he had been taught ; "you know that every
man daily breaks the commandments in
thought, word, and deed." It is to be feared
that many Christians of riper years argue
about their sins as did this boy. "To sin
daily in thought, word, and deed," they say
to themselves, "is inevitable; not to be con-
scious of sins we are committing w^ould be a
bad state. We. are conscious of committing
various sins daily, therefore we are in the
normal and unavoidable condition of all
Christian men."

In opposition to this low standard the Word
of God sets up the standard of the Spirit-
filled man. He is one with Christ. The love
of God is in his heart as overflowing waters
of joy. His delight is in his Father in heaven
and in his Redeemer. He is always praising
and giving thanks. He loves men as Christ
loves them; he suffers for them as Christ
suffered. In all humble service he gives his
life for them. He pities his enemies, and
strives to do them good. He has no pleasure

84 By His Life.

when they fall ; he grieves. Looking up to
God as his witness, and looking his fellow-
men in the face, he declares that his conduct
is holy and just and unblameable. In the
world and in the church he behaves himself
with the holiness and sincerity of God, for
God lives in him and is manifested through
him. Though he is perfect now through this
fulness of the indwelling of Christ, he looks
forward with the utmost eagerness to the day
when he shall be perfected at the resurrection
of the dead. He bends every energy and
presses forward that he may win the prize,
and receive from his beloved Master praise
and honor in that day. He makes no preten-
sion of knowing his own heart in all its secret
recesses. The Lord alone must be his judge.
While he is conscious of nothing wrong in
his life, he is sure that, if there be anything
wrong of which he is not aware, the Lord
will reveal this to him,^ and it will be cleansed
away. He always triumphs.

This is no merely ideal life that is sketched.
It is the life that many men and women in the
primitive church actually realized; it is the
life now offered to us. Can anyone view it
and not stretch out the hand of faith gladly
to receive it?

iPhil. iii. 15.

CHAPTER IX.

An Unclouded Gospel.

There is no cloud casting a shadow over
the gospel. As given to us by our Lord, the
message of life is radiant with sunshine and
joy. "These things have I spoken unto you,
that my joy might remain in you, and that
your joy might be full." "Ask and ye shall
receive, that your joy may be full." "These
things speak I in the world, that they might
have my joy fulfilled in themselves." The
disciple who leaned upon the bosom of Jesus
takes up the words that sound like golden
bells : "These things write we unto you, that
your joy may be full." The apostle who suf-
fered above all others in the service of his
Master is the one who emphasizes the most
the joy of the life in Christ. "Rejoice in the
Lord alway: and again I say rejoice." To
be filled with the Spirit is to be filled with
joy. It is to sing and make melody- in the
heart unto the Lord. Joy is love exulting in
the presence of the object beloved. "Whom
having not seen, ye love; in whom ye rejoice
with joy unspeakable and full of glory." The

86 By His Life.

experience of the Spirit-filled men and women
of the New Testament is jubilant triumph.

Yet you will meet Christians who imagine
there is a sombre cloud resting on the gospel.
They think there are passages in the New
Testament which teach that every Christian
is sinning every moment. God says of sin,
''Oh, do not this abominable thing that I
hate." Yet these Christians suppose that God
has shown us in his word that we inevitably
do this abominable and hateful thing all the
time in his presence, as long as we live in this
world. Now, if a man can have no better life
than this, it is difficult to see how his joy can
be full at present ; and there are several other
things told us by our Saviour which must
be hard to explain. Still, if God has actually
taught us in his word what these Christians
suppose he has taught, we must believe him,
whatever be the difficulties in the case. But
I venture to think that a misapprehension
has occurred here, and that some statements
of God's word have been wrongly understood.
I believe that when they are understood
aright, it will be found that there is nothing
in them which implies that all Christians are
sinning every day.

The meaning of any text in the Bible is
never certainly known until the spirit in

By His Life. 87

which it was written is clearly understood.
The words may be very simple and direct;
yet, if we fail to apprehend the spirit of the
writer, we may be misled by his plainest
statement. Let me illustrate what I mean.

A few years ago Professor Huxley made
the remark in one of his writings that the
Apostle Paul had thought it right to use de-
ceit in order to advance his missionary work.
He referred to the words in the Second Epistle
to the Corinthians: ''Being crafty, I caught
you with guile." It was pointed out to Mr.
Huxley that, while he had quoted the words
of the apostle correctly, he had entirely mis-
apprehended the spirit in which they were
written. Paul was defending himself against
a charge of mercenary design in his work
among the Corinthians. He wrote to them in
substance : ''When I was with you, I received
nothing from you ; I was not supported by
you. When I come again, I will not be sup-
ported by you. But some of you say that,
though I was not supported by you myself,
being crafty I caught you with guile; that
I sent some of my fellow-workers to you, and
got a support from you through them. The
charge is not true. When I sent Titus and
another brother to you, Titus refused to re-
ceive anything from you. He and I worked

88 By His Life.

in the same spirit ; we walked in the same
path."

You see now Mr. Huxley's mistake. The
words quoted were not a statement by Paul
of the manner in which he had worked at
Corinth ; they were the statement of a charge
brought against him by his enemies. When
the spirit and sense of the passage were
pointed out, Mr. Huxley candidlv acknowl-
edged the slip he had made.

Now to bring the matter nearer home. I
was talking one day with a friend who
thought that the New Testament teaches that
every Christian is sinning all the time. "Does
not the Bible say," she asked, "that there is
none that doeth good, no, not one"? "Yes,"
I replied, "the Bible does say that, but
where?" And I turned her to the Third Chap-
ter of the Epistle to the Romans. There we
find a description of the natural state of all
men without the gospel : "There is none that
seeketh after God. They are all gone out of
the way, they are together become unprofi-
table; there is none that doeth good, no, not
one. Their throat is an open sepulchre ; with
their tongues they have used deceit ; the
poison of asps is under their lips ; whose
mouth is full of cursing and bitterness ; their
feet are swift to shed blood." Now mv friend

By His Life. 89

would liave been shocked if anyone had asked
whether the Bible does not teach that every
Christian is bitter, murderous, and full of
cursing- ; yet there would be the same ground
for this question as for the question she asked
me.

In a similar manner we hear some Chris-
tians quote the statement of the Apostle
James: "In many things we offend all."
They seem to regard this as a confession of
James that he and all other Christians were
frequently, if not constantly, committing sin.
And yet James says in the same passage, "The
tongue is full of deadly poison. Therewith
bless we God. even the Father ; and therewith
curse we men, which are made after the simil-
itude of God. Out of the same mouth pro-
ceedeth blessing and cursing." Are we to
conclude now that James and Paul and the
beloved John cursed men with tongues full
of deadly poison ? Yet there is the same war-
rant for believing this as for believing that
they, and others like them, did in many things
ofifend.

In the ordinary speech of our modern life
we do not so misunderstand men. Here is
an address delivered by a devout evangelical
Frenchman to his countrymen. He says,
"God calls us to be a righteous nation. He

90 By His Life.

wishes us to be pure. But we people of
France are vainglorious ; we are given over
to worldly pleasure ; we are stained with im-
morality." What would we think of a Chris-
tian who, after reading these words, should
declare that this good Frenchman has con-
fessed that he and all his evangelical asso-
ciates are given over to worldly pleasure and
stained with immorality? Yet, just so some
Christians have treated the Apostle James.

Does anyone so misunderstand the prophets
of the Old Testament? Jeremiah, the purest
and noblest, as the Jews say, of all the pro-
phets, breaks out in Lamentations : "We have
transgressed and we have rebelled ; thou hast
not pardoned. The crown is fallen from our
head ; woe unto us that we have sinned."
Now fancy a young Jew saying to himself,
"Jeremiah here confesses that he was a dis-
honored transgressor, and did much that was
sinful. I cannot hope to be better than he."
So the young man acquiesces in a life of dis-
honor as inevitable, and allows himself to
float on the current of sin. What would we
think of such a handling of the inspired
word? Yet we see Christians who are con-
scious that they offend in many things, and
solace themselves with the delusion that they
are not far from the apostolic standard, be-

By His Life. 91

cause James says, "In many things we offend
all."

The Apostle James wrote at a time when
dark evils had invaded the church. Rich
monopolists occupied the best seats in the
Christian assemblies; poor men went to the
wall. The same tongues that blessed God
in the public worship, cursed men in the marts
of trade. James portrayed the sad condition
of things. In doing this he used the style
which prophets and wise men were accus-
tomed to use when they depicted widespread
evils in the church. 'Tn many things we
offend all. We bless God and we curse men.
Out of the same fountain proceed bitter
waters and sweet." But did James intimate
for a moment that such a state of things was
inevitable among Christians? Far from it.
*'My brethren, these things ought not so to
be." He points to the sure remedy for these
evils, within the reach of all who believe.
"The wisdom that is from above is first pure,
then peaceable, gentle, and easy to be en-
treated, full of mercy and good fruits." "If
any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God,
that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraid-
eth not ; and it shall be given him." The wis-
dom that is from above is the Holy Spirit.
God's liberal gift is the fulness of the vSpirit ;

92 By His Life.

and the fulness of the Spirit, as we saw, is
the perfection of the New Testament. James
clearly indicates the marks of this perfection,
and urges his fellows-Christians to obtain it.
"If any man offend not in word, the same is
a perfect man." ''Let patience have her per-
fect work, that ye may be perfect and entire,
w^anting- nothing." Is it possible that any
Christian can prefer the state of a double-
tongued, money-worshipping church — " in
many things we offend all" — to the state of
the man filled with the Spirit of wisdom —
"perfect and entire, wanting nothing" !

There is another text in the New Testa-
ment wdiich I wish to notice, for I think it
has misled not a few^ Christians. The Apostle
John whites in his First Epistle, "If we say
that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves,
and the truth is not in us." A Christian min-
ister recently published a series of papers, in
which he put forward this text as a proof
that every Christian sins every moment. If
we do not admit that w^e sin constantly, was
his argument, w^e deceive ourselves. Now, on
the face of it there was something remark-
able in this interpretation. The Apostle John
declares that his object in writing the passage
in which the text occurs is, that his fellow-
Christians mav not sin. ''These thines write

By His Life. 93

I unto you, that ye sin not." Yet here was a
Christian teacher using the text to prove to
his fellow-Christians that they would surely
sin every moment. The object of the Apostle
John and the object of the modern writer
were widely diverse.

The passage that John wrote opens to us a
wonderful view of God giving us his own life,
with cleansing power. John tells us how
clearly the life was manifested to us by Jesus
Christ. Now we are sharers in the life. We
have fellowship, we possess all in common,
with the Father and with the Son. "All are
yours." "My beloved is mine, and I am his."
God is light. If we have fellowship with
him, we walk in the light. To walk in the
light is to "walk in love, as Christ also hath
loved us and hath given himself for us." So
"if we walk in the light, as he is in the light,
we have fellowship one with another, and the
blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us
from all sin."

The blood cleanses from the guilt of sin —
a precious truth, yet only a part of the truth.
"The blood is the life."^ "My blood is drink
indeed." "He that eateth my flesh and drink-
eth my blood, dwelleth in me, and I in him."
"Eat, O friends; drink, yea, drink abund-

' Deut. xii. 23.

94 By His Life.

antly, O beloved." The blood cleanses from
the pollution of sin by filling us with the life
of Christ. It cleanses from all sin. There is
no limit set here. "Wash me, and I shall be
whiter than snow." But it cleanses only those
who confess their sins. 'Tf we say that we
have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the
truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he
is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and
to cleanse us from all unrighteousness." Con-
fession of sins brings not only forgiveness,
but cleansing from all unrighteousness —
again no limit set. When the prodigal said,
"Father, I have sinned," the father said,
"Bring forth the best robe, and put it on
him." So our fellowship with God has ful-
ness of joy, and we live that we may sin no
more. "My little children, these things write
I unto you, that ye sin not."

And now, with this light of God in you and
around you, are you willing to accept the
presence of sin in your life as inevitable? I
hope not. God has made us sharers of his
own holy life, that we may walk in the light
as he is in the light ; and he has set no limit
to this. He wishes to impart to us the ful-
ness of his own joy, and he has set no limit to
this. He gives us all the purifying power
that is in the life of his Son, that we may be

By His Life. 95

cleansed from all sin, and he sets no limit to
this. And shall we say, either through indif-
ference or through despondence, that we ex-
pect sin to be in us constantly, though we be
thus the children of God ? Does the best robe
in our Father's house carry in its folds the
evil odors of the swine? Does the richest
feast of his board suggest in its flavor the
husks of a famished land? When he says,
"Son, thou art ever with me," is there no
such thing as unbroken fellowship? When
he adds, ''and all that I have is thine," is there
no such thing as fulness of possession?
When he speaks to us the words, ''cleanseth
from all sin," must we daily say, "Not all,
Lord ; only some" ?

Nay; the Apostle John adds statement to
statement in this epistle to show us that there
is no limit to be set to the cleansing from sin
in this life. "Whosoever abideth in him sin-
neth not." "Hereby know we that we abide
in him, and he in us, because he hath given
us of his Spirit." (R. V.) "Beloved, if our
heart condemn us not, we have boldness to-
wards God. And whatsoever we ask, we re-
ceive of him, because we keep his command-
ments, and do the things that are pleasing in
his sight." (R. V.) "He that committeth
sin is of the devil ; for the devil sinneth from

g6 By His Life.

the beginning. For this purpose the Son of
God was manifested, that he might destroy
the works of the devil." "This is the bold-
ness that we have in him, that, if w^e ask any-
thing according to his will, he heareth us;
and if we know that he heareth us, whatso-
ever we ask, w^e know that we have the peti-
tions which we have asked of him." (R. V.)
So the beloved disciple follows his Master in
persuading us not to set a limit to the blessed
work which he, the Son of God, does in us.

The returned prodigal, though he had the
best robe and the ring and the sandals, could
never forget the pain he had sent to his fath-
er's heart by his guilty wanderings. The
munificence of his father's love deepened his
self-reproach. At every thought of the past
he felt that he had but one place of rest,
though that was assured — his father's forgiv-
ing grace. He was washed ; he was cleansed ;
his heart was filled with joy and grateful de-
votion: yet the boundless generosity lavished
on him only made him the more loathe him-
self for wdiat he had been. So Paul the apos-
tle could never forget the days when he had
been Saul the persecutor. 'T am the least of
the apostles, that am not meet to be called an
apostle, because I persecuted the church of
God." As to purity of life and value of ser-

By His Life. 97

vice done for God in tlie world, he knew that
he was unsurpassed in the college of the
apostles. "In nothing," he said, "am I be-
hind the very chiefest apostles." "I laboured
more abundantly than they all." But the
memory of what he had been before Christ
became his life humbled him in the dust.

With still greater emphasis, in writine
his First Epistle to Timothy and speaking of
the time when he had been "a blasphemer and
a persecutor and injurious," he pronounced
himself to be the chief of sinners. Just here
a remarkable feature of the case emerges,
which is presented as a strong encourage-
ment to us. The judgment which he pro-
nounced on himself originated with the Lord
Jesus. The Saviour of men had chosen him
to be the eminent example of sovereign grace.

We may imagine a king dealing with a
province in his dominions, which is wholly
in revolt. He issues a proclamation of am-
nesty, offering pardon and the fulness of the
royal favor to everyone who will submit. But
the revolted subjects are suspicious and un-
believing ; they hold back. So he chooses the
man who has been the head and front of the
rebellion ; the man who is the most aggres-
sive of all the foes of the kingdom; the one
whose hands are the deepest dyed in the blood

98 By His Life.

of the king's friends. He pardons this man,
and takes him into his most intimate confi-
dence; he loads him with benefits. Then he
sends him out as a messenger to ah who are
in revolt. The pardoned leader stands before
his former associates. "You may certainly
trust the word of the king in this matter;'' he
says. "I am the chief of rebels ; the king has
pardoned me. He has made me his friend;
he has loaded me with privileges and riches.
Everyone of you may now confidently accept
his offer. If he did so much for me, you may
be sure he is ready to do as much for anyone
of you."

Such is the statement Paul makes to a mis-
trustful, unbelieving world. In the presence
of all sinners he stands as the vilest of the
vile. We see him a man of wonderful capac-
ities and powers. Every capacity had been
filled with hatred to Christ ; every power had
been directed against Christ's kingdom on
earth. His hands were red w4th the blood of
saints. He was the ravening wolf of the tribe
of Benjamin. He was the ringleader of
rebels. In the proud, hard, self-righteous
class that God declared to be a smoke in his
nostrils, he was a Pharisee of the Pharisees.
He was the chief of sinners. And because
he was the worst of all, Jesus Christ chose

By His Life. 99

him and saved him, that no sinner might
afterwards doubt ; that every sinner might be
free to accept. And so Paul turns to a world
of revolted oflfenders; he reminds them that
he had persecuted, blasphemed, outraged the
king; and he says, "It is a faithful saying,
and worthy of all acceptation, that Christ
Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of
whom I am chief. Howbeit, for this cause I
obtained mercy, that in me as chief (R. V.)
Jesus Christ might show forth all long suffer-
ing, for a pattern to them which should here-
after believe on him to life everlasting." Here
is the most wonderful example of a sinner
saved. If the Redeemer of men did so much
for me, v/ill he not do as much for you ? This
is the message of Paul to the world.

And now 1 think we may understand
clearly the self-loathing of the man who is
filled with the Spirit of God. He loathes
himself for that which he remembers. He
is filled with love to God and love to men, and
the light in which he walks shows him how
horrible was the sin which he did. I said that
there is no cloud casting a shadow over the
gospel. Self-loathing is not a shadow. It is
the clear, gladsome, all-illuminating sun re-
vealing the pit from which we are saved. It
is the rescued man washed and cleansed,

loo By His Life.

loathing the mire with which he was defiled.
Such is the account of self-loathing which
God gives us in a promise that glitters with
the purity which he bestows on his people.
Listen to the gracious words :

"Then will I sprinkle clean water upon
you, and ye shall be clean ; from all your
filth iness, and from all your idols, will I
cleanse you. A new heart also will I give
you, and a new spirit w411 I put within you :
and I will take away the stony heart out of
your flesh, and I will give you an heart of
flesh. And 1 will put my Spirit within you,
and cause you to walk in my statutes, and ye
shall keep my judgments, and do them. And
ye shall dwell in the land that I gave to your
fathers ; and ye shall be my people, and I will
be your God. I will also save you from all
your uncleannesses ; and I will call for the
corn, and will increase it, and lay no famine
upon you. And I will multiply the fruit of
the tree, and the increase of the field, that ye
shall receive no more reproach of famine
among the heathen. Then shall ye remember
your own evil ways, and your doings that
were not good, and shall loathe yourselves in
your own sight, for your iniquities and for
your abominations."^

' Ezek. xxxvi. 25, 31,

By His Life. ioi

Here is a self-loathing where all is purity
and joy. In the experience of Canaan de-
lights, in the land of corn and wine and oil,
in the day when all his filthiness and all his
imcleannesses have been washed away, in the
full possession of the Spirit of God, walking
in his statutes and keeping his judgments,
the child of God, remembering the past that
was evil and the days that were not good,
loathes himself in his own sight. "In me, that
is, in my flesh, dwelleth no good thing" —
this is the self-loathing of Paul. It was in
the flesh he slew the saints ; it was in the
flesh he hated Christ. But what does he say
of the flesh after all his filthiness has been
cleansed? ''Henceforth know we no man
after the flesh : even though we have known
Christ after the flesh, yet now we know him
so no more."^ The pure Spirit of his forgiv-
ing King dw^elt in him and filled him. The
love of Christ constrained him. Old things
had passed away ; all things were now new.

Beloved, let us remember the command
which Paul, speaking by the Holy Spirit, has
given us. ''Be ye imitators of me."

•2 Cor. V. 16, R. V.

CHAPTER X.

Closing Words.

The last invitation of love sent down from
heaven by Jesus Christ to men is that they
come and receive the Holy Spirit in his ful-
ness. ''Whosoever will, let him take the
water of life freely." The water of life is
his own Spirit of life. Such is his urgency
in this matter that he issues commands which,
if obeyed, will make the earth vocal with the
invitation to accept the Spirit. The church,
the bride of Christ, is presented as lifting up
her voice in the power of the Spirit and say-
ing, Come. "The Spirit and the bride say.
Come." Everyone who hears the message is
enjoined to repeat it, extending it to all
around. ''Let him that heareth say, Come."
Everyone who feels any dissatisfaction, any
longing, any unrest, is entreated to come.
"Let him that is athirst come." And then,
that every human being may know that the
invitation is as broad as the earth and leaves
out no one, the final words are, "Whosoever
will, let him take the water of life freely."
Such is the longing desire of our beloved
King that all men may be saved by his life.

By His Life. 103

In the closing part of the epistle in which
these words occur — "saved by his life" — we
are besought, by the mercies of God, to pre-
sent our bodies a living sacrifice, holy, ac-
ceptable to God. Does the expression, "liv-
ing sacrifice," seem to anyone to carry a for-
bidding sound? Do you find yourself in any
degree shrinking from the consecration to
God which the words imply? Let me assure
you that such a consecration is simply the
opening of the channel by which the waters
of life and power may flow in to make you
glad. It is the signal for the beginning of a
song and melody in your heart which will
grow richer and deeper as the years go on.
It is the repetition of that hour of triumphant
praise when "Hezekiah commanded to offer
the burnt offering upon the altar. And when
the burnt offering began, the song of the
Lord began also with the trumpets, and with
the instruments of David. The singers sang,
and the trumpeters sounded." It is commit-
ting yourself into the hands of infinite love
and wisdom, to be guided and kept for your
good always. The living sacrifice means the
highest possible success in life.

And yet, let no one of us disguise from him-
self the fact that, if we are saved by the life
of our Lord Jesus Christ, we must partici-

104 By His Life.

pate in the sufferings of his life. I need not
tell you what those sufferings were. His own
friends said that he was beside himself. The
ecclesiastical leaders of the day declared that
he had a devil. He was despised and re-
jected of men. And when his life was mani-
fested in Paul and the other apostles, the re-
sult was the same. They were treated as the
filth of the world and as the offscouring of
all things. In this matter the history of the
centuries does not change. The saying is of
universal application : "All that will live
godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecu-
tion."

Some who see this condition of things draw
l^ack from the fulness of the Christ-life.
The spies who refused to enter Canaan af-
firmed that it was "a land that eateth up the
inhabitants thereof." So there are men now
who decline to "go on unto perfection," or to
take as their inheritance "the fulness of the
blessing of Christ." They perceive that this
is a region in which the inhabitants are stig-
matized as "cranks," "fanatics," "mystics,"
possibly w^orse, and either ecclesiastically or
socially are consumed.

But, beloved, if, under the guidance of the
Spirit of truth, you enter this rich inheritance,
you v/ill find that all afflictions which come on

By His Life. 105

you are indeed light. Well does the Master
say to each one of us, '.'Fear none of those
things which thou shalt suffer." In the world
you will have tribulation ; in him you will
have peace. He will stand by you and help
you. His love will be to you better than wine.
If you are cast out of the synagogue, he will
come to you with words of comfort and cheer.
If you are beaten in the council, you will de-
part rejoicing that you are counted worthy
to suffer shame for his name. He will so fill
you with his own Spirit of pity that you will
bless them who persecute you ; and he may
give you the great joy of seeing some of them
receive the blessing which you and others
know to be more precious than all riches.
Though you may now be misunderstood and
misrepresented, you will look forward with
confidence to the day when all that is hidden
shall be brought to light ; and you will knov/
surely that in that day, when the books are
opened and the dead are judged out of those
things which are written in the books, your
name will be found written in the book of the
life of the Lamb ; for even now you are "saved
bv his life."

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